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.

14,272 decisions and counting · Latest decision August 26, 2026
4 decisions 30 C.F.R. § 56.18020

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ALJ

Darwin Stratton & Son Inc.

Citations and orders affirmed after nonappearance

Darwin Stratton operated a small sand and gravel pit that MSHA discovered while investigating a fatal accident. The operator contested numerous citations and orders but did not appear at the hearing. Judge Richard W. Manning found the alleged violations established, including guarding, workplace…

October 30, 2000 ·Richard W. Manning ·FMSHRC
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Oasis Contracting, Inc.

Discrimination complaint dismissed

Oasis Contracting provided temporary labor to coal companies, and Anthony Williams worked at Performance Coal Company’s Upper Big Branch mine. Williams claimed that Performance laid him off and Oasis later terminated him because he might testify about a fatal mine accident and because he had…

November 3, 1999 ·T. Todd Hodgdon ·FMSHRC
Other
ALJ

Timber Lakes Corporation

Three citations affirmed, one vacated, and $750 assessed

Timber Lakes Corporation operated a small sand and gravel pit where a worker was struck by a pipe wrench while trying to restart a conveyor. Judge John J. Morris affirmed citations for failing to report the accident, allowing an employee to work alone in a hazardous area, and performing machinery…

September 25, 1987 ·John J. Morris ·FMSHRC
Mixed result
ALJ

Sanders Construction, Inc.

Four citations affirmed and one vacated

Sanders Construction, Inc. faced five citations at the Gilbert Mine #1 in connection with violations of mandatory mine-safety standards. After a hearing began, the parties reached a settlement. Judge John J. Morris approved the settlement, affirmed four citations under 30 C.F.R. §§ 56.6047 and…

October 31, 1986 ·John J. Morris ·FMSHRC
Mixed result

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.