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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Secretary of Labor v. Carl A. Johnson, employed by Morton Salt Division/Morton Thiokol Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Carl A. Johnson (FMSHRC CENT 89-54-M, CENT 89-60-M): Settlements approved for two mine-safety orders
The Secretary charged Carl A. Johnson under section 110(c) of the Mine Act with knowingly authorizing, ordering, or carrying out two alleged violations at the Morton Salt Weeks Island Mine. One order involved 30 C.F.R. § 57.9003 and had an initial assessment of $400, and the other involved 30…
Secretary of Labor v. Mountain Parkway Stone, Incorporated
Mixed ruling on mine safety citations with $820 penalty
Mountain Parkway Stone operated the Staton Mine in Kentucky, producing limestone with a small workforce. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed most of the citations because the Secretary did not provide enough evidence to establish the alleged conditions or their legal elements. He found several…
Tony Chaney, Employed by Morton Salt Division/Morton Thiokol Inc.
Default penalty entered
Tony Chaney was a mine maintenance supervisor at Morton Salt's Weeks Island Mine. MSHA sought a $400 civil penalty for an alleged knowing violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.9003. Chaney did not answer the penalty proposal, and he also did not respond to the judge's order to show cause. The judge entered…
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.