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 Silver Queen Mine, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. The Silver Queen Mine, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2015-448-M, et al.): Sixteen citations resolved with $4,960 total penalty
MSHA issued sixteen citations during inspections of the small Silver Queen underground silver mine. Judge Richard W. Manning rejected the operator's argument that the Mine Act capped the number of inspections at the statutory minimum, explaining that section 103(a) requires at least four annual…
Secretary of Labor v. Lhoist North America of Virginia, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Lhoist North America of Virginia, Inc. (FMSHRC VA 2013-169-M): Five blasting-rig violations affirmed and $44,040 assessed
After its regular blasting rig failed, Lhoist directed miners to convert a Ford pickup into a temporary rig for transporting and loading ANFO explosive material. Judge Priscilla M. Rae upheld five violations involving unsafe access to the ANFO tank, missing pressure-relief and pressure-indicating…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.