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. Trapper Mining, Inc.
Three electrical, dust, and dragline citations affirmed
MSHA cited Trapper Mining for lacking insulating material at a pond's power-control switch, allowing drill dust to escape through a raised curtain, and performing work on a dragline while its bucket remained suspended. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed all three violations. He held that the…
Secretary of Labor, MSHA v. Solar Sources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-942, et al.): Surface-equipment citations mostly affirmed
MSHA cited multiple equipment, brake, fire-protection, access, and examination conditions at Solar Sources' Craney and Lewis surface coal mines. Judge Richard W. Manning rejected Solar's argument that inspectors had to pause and allow pre-operational examinations before inspecting equipment…
Georges Colliers Incorporated
Penalty reduced to $250
Georges Colliers and the Secretary stipulated that the remaining issue was how the penalty would affect the company's ability to continue in business. Judge David F. Barbour found the violation very serious and the company's negligence high, but also found that the proposed penalty would harm the…
Hobet Mining, Inc.
Dust-control citations partly resolved
Hobet Mining operated several West Virginia surface mines. The Secretary vacated one citation, and the judge accepted a settlement that modified two citations and reduced their total penalty to $720. The remaining five citations concerned visible drill dust and the requirement to use wet drilling…
S & M Construction Inc.
Mixed citation results and $7,020 penalty
S & M Construction operated mining equipment at the Coal Creek Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed a citation alleging that a baghouse was not maintained in safe operating condition because the Secretary did not prove the underlying equipment condition with competent evidence. The judge affirmed…
Green Coal Company
Two citations settled for $175
Green Coal Company faced two civil penalty proceedings involving an open door on an electrical circuit breaker box and ineffective dust controls on a highwall drill. The parties agreed to reduce the proposed penalties from $431 to $125 for the electrical citation and from $128 to $50 for the…
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.