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. Black Beauty Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2009-410, et al.): Redundant safety measures cannot defeat S&S
The Commission affirmed a modified safeguard requiring a clear 24-inch travelway free of mud and water along conveyor belts. It vacated the Judge's findings that one ventilation violation and three combustible-material accumulation violations were not significant and substantial because the Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2009-570): Modified belt-travelway safeguard upheld
MSHA issued Black Beauty Coal a safeguard requiring 24-inch travelways beside belt conveyors after fallen coal and rock blocked both sides of a belt. A later modification required those travelways to be clear of mud and water, and MSHA issued four citations for violating the modified safeguard. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2010-39, et al.): Three violations vacated and four modified
Black Beauty Coal Company contested seven enforcement actions at the Air Quality #1 Mine. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated a muddy-travelway citation because MSHA did not prove that less than 24 inches remained clear, and vacated two seal-examination orders because the cited flooding was not shown…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.