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. § 56.9002

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Ideal Cement Company

Side-screen equipment violation affirmed with $8,000 penalty

Ideal Cement operated a modified front-end loader without side screens while an employee used it inside a kiln. After a fatal accident, MSHA cited the company for operating equipment with a safety-affecting defect under 30 C.F.R. § 56.9002. On remand, the ALJ applied the reasonably prudent person…

September 18, 1991 ·FMSHRC
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Walker Stone Company, Inc.

Eleven safety citations affirmed with negligence findings modified

Walker Stone operated a surface limestone quarry and mill. MSHA alleged eleven violations involving guarding, electrical grounding, conveyor warnings, fuel-tank signage, power-switch labeling, cable fittings, and defects in a fuel-delivery truck. Judge William Fauver found every cited violation…

February 27, 1990 ·William Fauver ·FMSHRC
Modified
ALJ

Galite Corporation

Haulage-truck drive-shaft citation affirmed

MSHA cited Galite Corporation after finding one missing bolt and several loose bolts on the plate connecting the drive shaft to the transmission of an R-22 Euclid haulage truck at the Galite No. 1 Mine. Judge George A. Koutras found that the equipment defect could cause the drive shaft to fall…

August 28, 1987 ·George A. Koutras ·FMSHRC
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Sulphur Springs Stone Company

26 citations affirmed and $1,530 assessed

Sulphur Springs Stone Company operated a small stone mine in Kentucky with five employees. After the company did not appear at the hearing, Judge James A. Broderick reviewed the Secretary's evidence concerning 26 alleged violations found during an October 8, 1985 inspection. The violations included…

April 9, 1987 ·James A. Broderick ·FMSHRC
Citations affirmed

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.