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. The Kraemer Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. The Kraemer Company, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-222 M): Hazardous highwall citation affirmed
The Kraemer Company operated a limestone quarry where miners used loaders and parked personal vehicles near a 40-foot highwall. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 56.3200 for allowing travel near cracked, loose, and unsupported ground without a barrier or warning. The Judge credited the…
Secretary of Labor v. Tilcon New York, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Tilcon New York, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2016-66, et al.): Six of seven contested citations upheld, total penalty raised to $4,458
Tilcon New York runs the Haverstraw Quarry and Mill, a surface granite mine in Rockland County, New York. An MSHA inspector wrote sixteen citations over a December 2015 and January 2016 inspection, and the parties settled nine of them before or during the hearing. Judge Margaret A. Miller decided…
RBS, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. RBS, Inc.
RBS, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-817): Every citation trimmed or thrown out, penalty cut from $24,886 to $1,227
RBS runs the Greystone Quarry, a small limestone operation near Lewisburg, West Virginia. A fill-in MSHA inspector spent two days there in February 2014 and wrote seven citations and orders, originally proposing $24,886 in penalties. The judge worked through the five that went to hearing. Two…
RBS, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. RBS, Inc.
RBS, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor, et al. (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-691 RM, et al.): Original quarry penalty decision later amended
RBS operated the Greystone Quarry and Plant, a small West Virginia limestone operation where an MSHA inspection produced six citations and $24,886 in proposed penalties. Judge L. Zane Gill upheld three equipment citations but deleted their S&S designations because injury was unlikely under the…
Secretary of Labor v. New NGC, Inc. and New NGC v. Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Labor v. New NGC, Inc., et al. (FMSHRC CENT 2015-37 RM, et al.): Cracked gypsum highwall violation affirmed
New NGC operated the Harper Quarry, a small Texas surface gypsum mine where trucks made 30 to 60 daily trips along a narrow road beside a roughly 20-foot highwall. An MSHA inspector cited fractured rock on the wall as hazardous ground that could fall into the road or strike a vehicle, while the…
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. Hanson Aggregates Midwest, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Hanson Aggregates Midwest, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2013-931-M): Loose highwall boulder violation brings $100
An MSHA inspector found a large loose boulder about 40 feet above a travel route at Hanson Aggregates' limestone quarry. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews held that the operator violated 30 C.F.R. § 56.3200 because the boulder created a crushing hazard, work-related travel occurred below it, and the area…
Secretary of Labor v. Kirk Fenoff & Son Excavating
Secretary of Labor v. Kirk Fenoff & Son Excavating (FMSHRC YORK 2014-28-M): Mine Act interrogatories presumptively limited to 25
Kirk Fenoff & Son initially served 64 interrogatories in a case involving two related highwall orders, then reduced the request to 39 after court-directed discussions. The Secretary sought a 25-question limit. Judge William B. Moran held that Commission procedural rules govern the scope of…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Austin Powder Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Austin Powder Company, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2010-1529-M): Hazardous-highwall citation affirmed
An Austin Powder employee entered beneath a highwall with extensive loose material to mark drilling locations for a future blast. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found that the full safety bench, loose rock, and sloped debris could send falling material into the work area. A danger sign about 500 feet away…
Secretary of Labor v. Ludwig Explosives, Inc. and Tuscola Stone Company
Secretary of Labor v. Ludwig Explosives, Inc. and Tuscola Stone Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2012-25-M et al.): Unscaled highwall violations upheld
Two blasters worked near the base of a 40-foot highwall made of loose, unconsolidated material after heavy rain and observed rock falls. Judge John Kent Lewis held both Tuscola Stone and blasting contractor Ludwig Explosives responsible under 30 C.F.R. § 56.3200: Tuscola failed to test and scale…
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.