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
Further submissions required in EAJA fee proceeding
Samuel J. McLaughlin, an individual employed by Consolidation Coal Company, sought attorney fees and expenses after the Secretary dismissed a section 110(c) allegation against him in an underlying mine-safety case. Judge David Barbour found that McLaughlin was a prevailing party and that the record…
Buck Creek Coal, Inc.
Default judgment and $20,588 penalty
Buck Creek Coal, Inc. faced 33 alleged violations at the Buck Creek Mine in six consolidated civil penalty proceedings. The company did not answer the Secretary’s discovery requests, the order compelling responses, or the motion for default. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found the company in default…
Shamrock Coal Company, Inc.
Non-S&S finding affirmed
Shamrock Coal Company was cited after four miners working underground were not provided enough self-contained self-rescuers under the mine’s firefighting and evacuation program. The judge found a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.1101-23, but concluded it was not significant and substantial because the…
Arch of Kentucky, Incorporated
Discrimination complaint dismissed
Michael D. Burton alleged that Arch of Kentucky discriminated against him after he raised safety concerns about defective mantrip sanders and the availability of self-contained self-rescuers. He claimed that management later treated his dental absence, attendance records, counseling, and return to…
Shamrock Coal Company, Inc.
Settlement approved and violations affirmed without S&S findings
Shamrock Coal operated underground coal mines and a preparation plant. In KENT 90-75, Judge Avram Weisberger approved a settlement that reduced two citation penalties from $121 to $40. In KENT 90-60, the judge found violations involving self-contained self-rescuers, emergency materials…
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.