Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), 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. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc. (FMSHRC VA 2023-0021): Contractor held to mine block-light safeguard
A GMS miner drove a manbus past a red block light and caused a head-on underground rail collision that seriously injured miners. GMS argued that the mine-specific safeguard could not be enforced against it because MSHA had issued written notice to the production operator, not separately to GMS, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Marshall County Coal Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Marshall County Coal Resources (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0214): Three-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved three citations involving a coal feeder whose emergency-stop cable did not work, debris obstructing track clearance in violation of a safeguard, and a missing preshift examination for the same area. The first two penalties were reduced by 43 percent without changing the…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2023-0007): Twenty-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved 20 citations at Iron Cumberland's Cumberland Mine, reducing proposed penalties from $19,503 to $13,773. Several negligence findings were lowered, two citations were changed to unlikely and non-S&S, and other findings were modified or left unchanged. Judge Moran questioned…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0129): Communications and track settlement approved
The settlement covered an emergency-communications citation and two track or travelway safeguard citations at Consol Pennsylvania Coal's Bailey Mine. The communications system lacked redundant tracking and communication along a 2,420-foot alternate escapeway and at a refuge location; its…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co., LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co., LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0100): Two hoist safeguards vacated
MSHA issued two mine-specific safeguards concerning wear on a slope-hoist rope and supplies or debris beside the slope track at Consol's Bailey Mine. Judge John Kent Lewis found the first safeguard invalid because existing wire-rope standards already addressed the alleged hazard, and he also found…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc. (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0126): Safeguard citation vacated
A hook clevis broke while GMS Mine Repair employees were using a mule to move a longwall shield at Bailey Mine, sending the hook 33 feet through the air and striking a miner. MSHA cited GMS under a 2006 safeguard that had been issued in writing to mine owner Consol after a different chain failure…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- 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 OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.