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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Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Violation rulings affirmed, penalties remanded
This case followed two explosions at Jim Walter Resources' No. 5 Mine that killed 13 miners and injured several others. On the issues presented for review, the Commission affirmed dismissal of an evacuation order because the approved plan did not specify that an explosion triggered evacuation. It…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Explosion-related violations mostly vacated and $3,000 assessed
Jim Walter Resources operated the No. 5 underground coal mine when two explosions on September 23, 2001 killed 13 miners and injured others. The Secretary charged eight alleged violations involving roof control, rock dust, preshift examinations, evacuation, and fire drills. Judge David F. Barbour…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Pretrial motions resolved
Jim Walter Resources filed motions to exclude an MSHA investigation report, limit evidence about prior violations, and obtain summary decision on several citations. Judge David F. Barbour denied exclusion of the report, rejected summary decision on the contested issues, and resolved the evidentiary…
Magic Coal Company
Settlement approved with $2,389 in penalties
Magic Coal agreed to settle eight alleged safety violations and one training order across three dockets. The violations involved electrical equipment, fire drills, high-voltage cable guarding, a smoking-program record, trailing-cable protection, ventilation-plan air movement, and miner refresher…
M A G Incorporated
Settlements totaling $21,000 approved across 14 dockets
M A G Incorporated contested 54 alleged safety and health violations across 14 dockets at Alloy Deep Mine No. 2. The parties reported that the operator was a small mine with poor financial condition, that no accidents or injuries resulted from the cited conditions, and that all conditions were…
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.