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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Consolidation Coal Company
Trolley-switch citation vacated
Consolidation Coal used a trolley switch as a dead block at its Osage No. 3 Mine after removing the switch handle and blade but leaving the fingers attached. MSHA cited the practice under 30 C.F.R. § 75.520, and the Secretary sought a $50 civil penalty. Judge David F. Barbour found that the switch…
Ronald Weaver, employed by Consolidation Coal Company
Individual penalty assessed for knowingly ordered electrical violation
Ronald Weaver was the mine superintendent at Consolidation Coal Company's Humphrey No. 7 Mine. The Judge found that Weaver knowingly authorized and ordered workers to bypass overcurrent protection on trolley wires so coal hauling could continue, violating 30 C.F.R. § 75.1001. The evidence showed…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Safeguard and citations vacated
MSHA alleged that Southern Ohio Coal violated two electrical safety requirements at its Martinka No. 1 Mine and sought civil penalties. Judge George A. Koutras approved the parties' disposition of one citation and vacated it. He found that a mine-specific safeguard requiring short-circuit…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.