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. Consol of Kentucky, Inc.
Consol of Kentucky, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2007-63): High-voltage lockout violations affirmed with $51,000 in penalties
An electrician at Consol's Beaver Gap E-3 Mine suffered severe electrical shock while working in a high-voltage power center. Judge Gary Melick held that Consol's two-person procedure violated the requirement that each person performing electrical work personally lock and tag the disconnecting…
Consolidation Coal Company
One citation affirmed and other orders dismissed
Consolidation Coal's Dilworth Mine was cited after miners connected high-voltage cables without a qualified person and after inspectors addressed fires, hot roof conditions, trolley-wire insulation, and combustible materials. Judge Avram Weisberger vacated the citation for connecting the cable…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Electrical-work citation vacated
U.S. Steel Mining was cited after a shuttle-car operator taped a nick in a deenergized and locked-out trailing cable without a qualified electrician present. Judge George A. Koutras found that the taping was mechanical work, not electrical work requiring a qualified person under the cited…
Karst Robbins Coal Company, Inc.
Electrical and roof-safety violations affirmed
Karst Robbins Coal Company operated the No. 4 coal mine. The judge found that the company allowed an unqualified miner to work on a 480-volt trailing cable without direct supervision, failed to lock out or tag the circuit, kept a power center in a return air course, and left unsupported roof in a…
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.