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. Uehlin Quarry
Secretary of Labor v. Uehlin Quarry (FMSHRC CENT 2011-1129-M): Seven violations upheld and $20,124 assessed after crusher accident
A Uehlin Quarry truck driver was permanently paralyzed after a steel pry bar struck him while miners cleared a rock jam with the crusher's impeller still running. Judge L. Zane Gill upheld seven violations involving powered-equipment maintenance, fall protection, machine guarding, an unprotected…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Small Mine Development, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Small Mine Development, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2012-1171-M, et al.): Forklift citation vacated, training and windshield violations modified
The case addressed a miner adjusting raised forklift forks, incomplete task training, and a remix truck operated with a badly cracked windshield at Small Mine Development's underground metal mine. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy vacated the forklift-operation citation because adjusting the forks was not…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.