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. Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC
Spray-foam stopping citation affirmed
Peabody Twentymile used non-strength-enhancing polyurethane foam to seal the perimeter of a dry-stacked concrete-block ventilation stopping. Judge David P. Simonton held that traditionally accepted block-stopping construction under 30 C.F.R. § 75.333(e)(1) required a strength-enhancing perimeter…
Big Ridge, Inc.
Litigated and settled violations yield $337,194 penalty
Six dockets against Big Ridge covered belt accumulations, mine examinations, machine guarding, equipment safety, fire warning systems, and many additional citations resolved by settlement. Judge Richard W. Manning assessed $90,000 on the litigated matters, including substantial penalties for…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Four citations modified and $561 penalty assessed
Williams Brothers Coal Company operated the small No. 3 underground coal mine in Pike County, Kentucky. MSHA cited the mine after an inspection found electrical grounding and de-energization problems, conveyor and belt-line maintenance issues, a missing mine map, and a non-functioning fire sensor…
Broken Hill Mining Company, Incorporated
Settlement approved with $1,254 penalty
Broken Hill Mining Company agreed to settle all citations in two civil penalty proceedings. The proposed penalties totaled $1,747, and the approved settlement reduced the payment to $1,254. The Judge vacated and dismissed two citations, modified four others as specified in the settlement, and…
Nats Creek Mining Company
Ten citations and two imminent-danger orders affirmed
Nats Creek Mining operated the Sugarloaf No. 2 underground coal mine in Kentucky. After a fatal accident involving a scoop operator, MSHA cited the mine for missing or inoperative methane monitors and an inoperative fire-suppression system on scoops. MSHA also cited an underground battery charging…
C.W. Mining Company
Four citations modified, four vacated
C.W. Mining operated the Bear Canyon No. 1 underground coal mine and contested citations involving fire sensors, roof support, and other safety standards. The Judge affirmed four citations, modified two roof citations to remove the significant-and-substantial designation, and vacated four citations…
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.