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. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc., and its successors
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2019-268): Withdrawal, inspection, and explosives violations affirmed
MSHA cited Hoover Excavating after the company drilled and blasted in a highwall bench area that remained subject to a withdrawal order. During a later inspection, owner Reginald Hoover refused to answer questions or open a truck used to transport explosives, then drove the truck away from…
Secretary of Labor v. Martin Marietta Materials Southwest, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Martin Marietta Materials Southwest, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2018-228): Loose highwall citation affirmed
Martin Marietta operated the Beckmann Quarry, where an MSHA inspector found loose boulders and back breakage above an area used by a loader. Judge David P. Simonton found that the highwall had not been adequately scaled and that the falling-material hazard existed where a miner worked. He credited…
Secretary of Labor v. APAC-Kansas, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. APAC-Kansas, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2015-1 M): Highwall, guarding, training and workplace-exam citations all upheld
APAC-Kansas runs the Bonner Springs limestone quarry in Kansas, where MSHA opened a multi-week inspection in July 2014 and issued 32 citations and orders. The parties settled 27 of them, and Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck tried the remaining four citations and one order. She upheld all five. Two…
U.S. Silica Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica Company
U.S. Silica Company v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-802-RM, WEVA 2014-803-RM): Highwall violations affirmed with $22,248 penalty
A large slope failure at U.S. Silica's West Virginia surface mine covered a bench and the only access road into the pit, yet the company cleared the road and resumed work without maintaining the highwall or preventing another slide. Judge Margaret A. Miller affirmed an S&S highwall-maintenance…
Secretary of Labor v. Duke's Sand & Gravel
Secretary of Labor v. Duke's Sand & Gravel (FMSHRC YORK 2012-97-M): All 22 violations upheld, penalties reduced to $2,085
MSHA found 21 section 104(a) violations and one section 104(g)(1) training order during Duke's Sand & Gravel's first inspection. The one-employee operation lacked required filings, guards, electrical protections, first-aid coverage, firefighting equipment, miner training, berms, sanitation…
Allied Stone, LLC
Allied Stone, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-47-M): Guarding and quarry citations split, with $650 total penalties
Allied Stone contested safety citations from an inspection of its portable surface limestone mine in Wisconsin. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed a highwall citation but removed its S&S designation because the loader operator was unlikely to be injured by falling rock. He vacated two guarding…
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.