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. Small Mine Development
Secretary of Labor v. Small Mine Development (FMSHRC WEST 2011-1351-M, WEST 2011-1153-RM): Refuge required with sole exploration escapeway
Small Mine Development advanced an exploratory decline about 1,000 feet with only one escapeway and had not installed the refuge chamber positioned outside the portal. A Commission majority held that 30 C.F.R. § 57.11050(a) is ambiguous about refuge requirements when exploration or development…
Wisconsin Industrial Sand Co. v. Secretary of Labor
Wisconsin Industrial Sand Co. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2014-692-M): Expedited hearing denied for abated citation
Wisconsin Industrial Sand contested an escapeway citation and requested an expedited hearing because it viewed abatement as expensive or unnecessary and believed MSHA may have abused its discretion. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found no extraordinary or unique circumstances requiring faster treatment…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.