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. United Salt Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. United Salt Corporation (FMSHRC CENT 2015-98): Verbal predicate citation sustained section 104(d) chain
Two MSHA inspectors verbally issued a section 104(d)(1) predicate citation and a later withdrawal order during the same inspection, then reduced both to writing and delivered them the next morning. United Salt argued that the predicate citation had to be written and physically served before the…
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Illinois Service Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Illinois Service Company (FMSHRC Lake 2011-1029-M, Lake 2012-161-M): Ten violations upheld and seat-belt citation vacated
MSHA cited Northern Illinois Service Company's two portable limestone-crushing plants near Rockford, Illinois, for electrical, guarding, equipment, berm, training-record, fire-extinguisher, and examination-record conditions. Judge L. Zane Gill upheld ten violations and vacated one citation…
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…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.