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. Hibbing Taconite Company
Secretary of Labor v. Hibbing Taconite Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2013-231-RM, et al.): Arbitrary abatement deadlines invalidate withdrawal orders
MSHA issued four section 104(b) withdrawal orders after Hibbing Taconite did not finish correcting three housekeeping violations and a damaged fan housing by 8:00 a.m. the morning after the citations. The inspector used the same next-morning deadline to prompt quick action even though some…
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, MSHA v. Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-818-M, et al.): Four plant citations affirmed with two reductions
After the parties settled 65 citations, four citations remained for trial at Northshore Mining Company's Minnesota taconite plant. Judge John Kent Lewis affirmed violations involving a deteriorated conveyor guard, material accumulations, an uncovered energized junction box, and a wet walkway. He…
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…
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.