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.
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IMC Fertilizer, Inc.
Loader brake citations affirmed without S&S findings
IMC Fertilizer operated a phosphate mine where an inspector found inadequate brakes on a Caterpillar 980 loader and a Clark 275 loader. After hydraulic fluid was added to the Caterpillar and the Clark's brakes were adjusted, both machines stopped in two or three feet instead of seven or eight feet…
Pomerleau Brothers, Inc.
Settlement approved for haulage and equipment violations
Pomerleau Brothers, Inc. operated Chelmsford Mill. The case involved three civil penalties, including violations concerning a truck's brakes and other equipment conditions. Judge Paul Merlin approved the parties' settlement recommendations for the original penalty amounts and found that a $500…
Arno Sand Company
Defective-brake citations affirmed with $60 penalty
Arno Sand Company operated the Highsmith Pit. MSHA cited the company after finding that a Clark 75 front-end loader was being used without adequate brakes and that the brake defect had not been recorded. Judge Gary Melick affirmed both violations, finding the brake violation significant and…
Tuscola Stone Company
Brake citations partly modified with $400 penalty
Tuscola Stone Company operated a limestone open-pit mine. MSHA cited two Euc haul-truck brake conditions, including service brakes that could not stop or hold the truck on steep haul roads and a hand brake that failed to stop the truck. Judge Gary Melick found the service-brake and hand-brake…
Missouri Rock, Inc.
Scraper brake citations affirmed
MSHA cited Missouri Rock after inspectors found that the wheel brakes on three tractor-scrapers could not stop the equipment, even though the scraper bowls could be dropped to the ground. The Commission held that the cited standard required adequate wheel or service brakes and that the alternative…
Hoover Incorporated
Safety-belt and brake citations affirmed
Hoover Incorporated contested two citations issued at its Donelson Pike Quarry and Mill, one after an employee worked on an elevated I-beam without a safety belt or line and one after a haulage truck continued rolling when its foot brakes were applied. Judge George A. Koutras found both violations…
Greenville Quarries, Incorporated
Seven violations assessed at $2,725
Greenville Quarries operated a limestone quarry and mill in Kentucky with about 30 employees. Judge George A. Koutras considered seven alleged violations involving electrical lockout procedures, mobile equipment brakes, equipment inspections, smoking near combustible materials, and roadway berms…
Secretary of Labor v. Eugene C. McPherson
Individual penalty settlement approved for $100
The Secretary alleged that Eugene C. McPherson, a mine manager, knowingly authorized a front-end loader with inoperative brakes to operate at the Somerset Lime and Stone Mine. The Secretary proposed a $250 individual penalty under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. McPherson no longer contested the…
Michael Brunson
Officer assessed individual penalty for brake violation
Michael Brunson was a vice president and the person listed in MSHA records as responsible for health and safety at a sand and gravel company. An employee told him that a front-end loader's brakes were defective about a week before MSHA found the loader operating without adequate brakes. Judge James…
Bandas Industries, Inc.
Five-violation settlement approved
MSHA and Bandas Industries asked the ALJ to approve a settlement covering five violations at the Nolanville Quarry and Plant. The settlement reduced the total penalties from $713 to $535 because of lower negligence or gravity, limited exposure, difficult testing conditions, and the operator's small…
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.