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. Sims Crane
Secretary of Labor v. Sims Crane (FMSHRC SE 2016-81): Fall-protection citation vacated for lack of proof
A Sims Crane employee exited a crane cab on a lowboy trailer by taking two or three steps across a three-foot-wide, skid-resistant deck about seven feet above the ground, then using a front ladder. The inspector cited the company for lacking fall protection, but had not closely examined the crane…
Sims Crane v. Secretary of Labor
Sims Crane v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2017-97): Imminent-danger order vacated
An MSHA inspector issued an imminent-danger order after seeing a Sims Crane driver walk across a crane fender about seven feet above the ground without fall protection. The Commission had reopened the late contest and remanded it for a decision on the merits. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Oil-Dri Production Company
Secretary of Labor v. Oil-Dri Production Company (FMSHRC SE 2015-285, SE 2015-418): Housekeeping and equipment citations produced $12,483 penalty
MSHA issued 14 citations at Oil-Dri's Mississippi clay-processing mine, principally for housekeeping accumulations, dust-truck defects, inadequate lighting, and a missed workplace examination. Judge L. Zane Gill vacated the fire-extinguisher-record citation, recorded Oil-Dri's acceptance of a…
Secretary of Labor v. LRock Industries
Secretary of Labor v. LRock Industries (FMSHRC WEST 2016-705): One citation vacated and total penalties reduced to $20,585
LRock Industries operated a surface sand and gravel pit where MSHA issued 19 citations involving berms, equipment defects, guarding, electrical safety, labeling, workplace examinations, and fall protection. Judge Margaret A. Miller affirmed most of the violations, including significant and…
Secretary of Labor v. Sims Crane, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Sims Crane, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2017-97 RM): Imminent-danger order reopened after agency reinforced mistake
Sims Crane missed the 30-day deadline to contest an imminent-danger order for a worker allegedly exposed to a fall hazard, believing that its later contest of the related citation and penalty also covered the order. The operator repeatedly included the order in its filings, and the Secretary's…
Secretary of Labor v. Thompson Electric, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Thompson Electric, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2015-596): Onsite electrician covered, Part 46 citations vacated
Thompson Electric worked six days at a sand-and-gravel mine disconnecting and reconnecting power to a dredge, and one employee was observed about 13 feet above ground without fall protection. Judge Jerold Feldman held that the contractor was subject to Mine Act jurisdiction because it performed…
Secretary of Labor v. Bussen Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Bussen Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2015-385): 2-2 split leaves highwall fall citation standing
A lead blaster moved a pump cart near the unmarked edge of a 70-foot limestone highwall without using fall protection. The ALJ inferred from the cart's position and handle direction that he had worked within several feet of the edge, and she affirmed the citation as S&S and highly negligent…
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2014-391 RM, et al.): Dredge safety violations yielded $50,530 penalty
A Hunter Sand & Gravel dredge hand disappeared while taking a draft reading from a snow-covered barge on the Ohio River and was presumed to have fallen into the water and drowned. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the snow-removal citation because the Secretary did not prove that sanding, salting, or…
Secretary of Labor v. Conveyor Belt Services, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Conveyor Belt Services, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2014-255, et al.): Conveyor belt used for splicing was a working platform
Conveyor Belt Services employees spliced a belt at U.S. Steel's Minntac Mine while standing or kneeling on the belt and a temporary ladder, toolbox, and plywood structure about 51 to 55 inches above the floor. Neither surface had handrails, and the employees used no fall protection during work…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-870 M): Six-year penalty delinquency supports $22,450 assessment
A customer truck driver climbed onto a loaded trailer without fall protection and worked near its edge about ten feet above the ground at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. An earlier decision affirmed the S&S violation but removed unwarrantable failure, reduced negligence to moderate, and cut the…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-870 M): Operator ordered to address six-year penalty delinquency
West Alabama Sand & Gravel had stipulated that a truck driver's failure to wear fall protection was a high-negligence and unwarrantable-failure violation, leaving only the penalty amount unresolved after a Commission remand. MSHA's records showed that the operator had paid only $200 of $27,890 in…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2015-340 M, et al.): Fifty-eight citations resolved for $33,764
Three Northshore Mining dockets involved 58 citations at an aboveground iron-ore processing and taconite-pellet facility in Minnesota. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy approved settlement of 54 citations for $30,261. Of the four litigated citations, he vacated a fall-protection allegation and affirmed…
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Hunter Sand & Gravel, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2014-391 RM, et al.): Late Coast Guard accident report excluded
A Hunter Sand & Gravel employee disappeared while transferring from a dredge to an adjacent barge on the Ohio River and was later declared dead. MSHA issued citations and orders concerning snow and ice, task training, flotation equipment, fall protection, and workplace examinations. After the…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-870-M): Penalty-factor briefing ordered after remand
A customer truck driver climbed onto a loaded trailer without fall protection at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. After the Commission vacated the Judge's earlier removal of the unwarrantable-failure designation, the operator stipulated that the violation involved high negligence and…
Secretary of Labor v. Bussen Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Bussen Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2015-385): Highwall fall-protection citation affirmed
A portable pump cart was positioned about four and a half feet from the edge of a 70-foot quarry highwall with its handles facing the drop. No warning line or barrier marked the rock-dust-blurred edge, and no tie-off point or fall protection was visible nearby. Judge Margaret A. Miller found it…
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-870-M): Unwarrantable-failure summary ruling vacated
A truck driver climbed onto his truck without fall protection at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. The ALJ affirmed the violation and S&S designation but treated the operator's opposition as a cross-motion for summary decision, removed unwarrantable failure, reduced negligence from high to…
Secretary of Labor v. American Colloid Company
Secretary of Labor v. American Colloid Company (FMSHRC WEST 2011-805-M, WEST 2011-1395-M): Fall-protection violations affirmed and chocking citations vacated
MSHA cited American Colloid for two unchocked trucks on slight grades and for two truck drivers working atop loads without fall protection. Judge L. Zane Gill vacated both chocking actions because professional surveys showed grades of only 1.0 and 1.2 percent, and the Secretary did not prove that…
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Mize Granite Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2014-407-M, et al.): Fall-protection citation settled at $27,250
An MSHA inspector observed a miner drilling without fall protection on a sloping quarry ledge, within six feet of an edge more than 20 feet above the quarry floor. Mize Granite conceded the violation but argued that the proposed $45,000 penalty would threaten its ability to remain in business…
Magruder Limestone Co., Inc. v. Secretary of Labor
Magruder Limestone Co., Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC EAJ 2013-01): EAJA fees denied despite reduced citation and vacated order
Magruder Limestone sought attorney fees after an underlying decision reduced a fall-protection citation from unwarrantable failure and high negligence to moderate negligence, cut its penalty from $52,500 to $16,509, and vacated a lockout order. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy denied the Equal Access to…
Secretary of Labor v. Youngquist Brothers Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Youngquist Brothers Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2012-0266-M): Fall-protection citation upheld and penalty reduced
Youngquist Brothers Rock operated a surface sand, gravel, and limestone mine in Florida. An MSHA inspector saw a truck driver standing six to seven feet above the ground in a truck bed while shoveling material without a safety belt or line. Judge L. Zane Gill held that MSHA had jurisdiction because…
Secretary of Labor v. Youngquist Brothers Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Youngquist Brothers Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2012-0266-M): Fall-protection citation upheld and penalty reduced
Youngquist Brothers Rock operated a surface sand, gravel, and limestone mine in Florida. An MSHA inspector saw a truck driver standing six to seven feet above the ground in a truck bed while shoveling material without a safety belt or line. Judge L. Zane Gill held that MSHA had jurisdiction because…
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. Cemex de Puerto Rico
Secretary of Labor v. Cemex de Puerto Rico (FMSHRC SE 2011-502-M, et al.): Four safety actions and $29,711 in penalties affirmed
MSHA issued four enforcement actions involving Cemex's Ponce Cement Plant and Cantera Canas Mine in Puerto Rico. Two citations concerned a welder working untied on top of a mill and reaching it by climbing handrails and mill structure instead of using safe access. A third citation covered multiple…
North County Sand & Gravel, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
North County Sand & Gravel, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA (FMSHRC EAJ 2014-1-J): EAJA eligibility granted after unjustified special assessment
North County Sand & Gravel sought attorney fees and expenses after the judge reduced an MSHA fall-protection penalty from the Secretary's original $35,500 demand to $3,500 and modified several citation designations. Judge Richard W. Manning held that North County was a prevailing party because the…
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC
Manuel A. Garza v. Hanson Aggregates, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2013-307-DM): Retaliatory discharge found after safety complaints
Manuel Garza worked at Hanson Aggregates' Servtex Plant for 21 years and repeatedly raised concerns about wall scaling, fall protection, and other safety practices. The plant manager had criticized Garza for safety work that slowed production, demoted him, treated him harshly, and disciplined him…
United Taconite, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. United Taconite, LLC
United Taconite, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2012-687-M, et al.): Fall and oily-walkway violations affirmed with reductions
At United Taconite's Minnesota plant, a miner worked without fall protection beside an open slurry-filled box, and another area had oily walkways and saturated absorbent pads around a compressor. Judge John Kent Lewis affirmed the imminent-danger order and found the fall-protection violation S&S…
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2012-422-M, et al.): Imminent-danger order vacated and four violations modified
MSHA cited Boart Longyear after a driller worked on a five-foot-high flatbed without fall protection, used a toolbox door for access, operated a truck with a defective backup alarm, and worked without required Part 46 training. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the imminent-danger withdrawal order…
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2012-422-M, et al.): Original fall-protection and training decision
MSHA cited Boart Longyear after a driller worked on a five-foot-high flatbed without fall protection, used a toolbox door for access, operated a truck with a defective backup alarm, and worked without required Part 46 training. Judge David F. Barbour vacated the imminent-danger order but upheld and…
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor
Boart Longyear Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2012-248-RM et al.): Alternative platform charge rejected before trial
MSHA had cited Boart Longyear for a foreman's failure to use fall protection while working on a truck bed and proposed a $70,000 penalty. Shortly before trial, the Secretary sought to add an alternative charge that the truck bed was an unsafe work platform without handrails. Judge David Barbour…
Magruder Limestone Company, Inc.
Magruder Limestone Company, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2010-1256-M, CENT 2010-1257-M, and CENT 2011-460-M): Lockout order vacated and fall-protection citation reduced
An MSHA inspector saw a Magruder Limestone plant operator standing about ten feet above the ground on an inclined conveyor while clearing a rock jam without fall protection or lockout procedures. The parties stipulated that both cited conditions were violations, but Judge Thomas P. McCarthy set…
Secretary of Labor v. Hunt Martin Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Hunt Martin Materials, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2012-78-M): Highwall fall-protection citation affirmed
Two blasters loaded holes near the edge of a 26-to-28-foot highwall without using available fall-protection equipment. Judge David P. Simonton credited the inspectors' contemporaneous notes and testimony that some holes were only two to three feet from the edge, rejecting the operator's claim that…
Sierra Rock Products, Inc.
Sierra Rock Products, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2010-1589-M): Electrical and access violations yield $23,643 penalty
Sierra Rock Products contested electrical, fall-protection, access, guarding, training, and equipment citations at its small California quarry and crusher. Judge Richard W. Manning upheld two imminent-danger orders, found several violations S&S, and affirmed or modified every litigated citation. He…
West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc.
West Alabama Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2009-870-M): Unwarrantable failure removed and fall-protection penalty reduced to $760
An independent truck driver climbed onto a loaded trailer about ten feet above the ground without fall protection while at West Alabama Sand & Gravel's mine. The operator did not dispute the violation or its significant-and-substantial designation, but it challenged the unwarrantable-failure…
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.