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. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co.
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co. (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0084): Two S&S citations affirmed
MSHA cited Consol's Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield and cracked light globes on a continuous miner. The Commission held that substantial evidence supported the judge's findings that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes could contribute to a…
Secretary of Labor v. Gentry Mountain Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Gentry Mountain Mining, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2024-0064): Safety findings affirmed and penalties increased
MSHA cited Gentry Mountain's underground coal mine for loose ribs along a haulage way, a come-along missing safety latches, a Jeep parked beneath the lifeline in the primary escapeway, and two nonfunctioning methane monitors. The Judge affirmed the loose-rib citation as significant and substantial…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0152): Retaliatory discipline and terminations remedied
Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall operated a longwall shearer at Warrior Met's No. 7 Mine and were disciplined after running it more slowly than management directed under conditions they believed were unsafe. They were placed on probation and later terminated near the end of that probation after a…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0403): Unsupported S&S removal rejected
Greenbrier and the Secretary proposed settling six citations, including removal of the significant-and-substantial designation from a citation alleging an inoperable emergency stop switch on a feeder breaker. That change would also have reduced the proposed penalty from $1,593 to $302. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0070): Damaged cutting-bit citation affirmed
A face ignition occurred while a continuous miner operated at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine, which was liberating more than 11 million cubic feet of methane per day. Investigators found two damaged cutting bits about two feet apart on the side of the cutting head where witnesses saw the ignition. The…
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. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0166): Amended parking-brake settlement approved
A personnel carrier used to transport miners had a nonfunctioning parking brake, and MSHA cited the condition as reasonably likely, significant and substantial, and moderately negligent. The settlement changed the likelihood to unlikely, removed the S&S designation, and cut the proposed penalty…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0166): Original parking-brake settlement decision superseded
This original decision approved a settlement concerning a personnel carrier with a nonfunctioning parking brake. The agreement changed the citation from reasonably likely and S&S to unlikely and non-S&S and reduced the proposed penalty from $1,069 to $535 based on the fact that the carrier's…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0084): Machine, electrical, and mapping citations affirmed
MSHA cited Consol's underground Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield, cracked light globes on a continuous miner, and failure to plot a drill hole that penetrated the coalbed. Judge Michael Young found that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0084): Three citations affirmed in original ruling
MSHA cited Consol's underground Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield, cracked light globes on a continuous miner, and failure to plot a drill hole that penetrated the coalbed. Judge Michael Young found that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0046): Shield-pin and mine-map citations modified
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Enlow Fork underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. The company conceded that four longwall shields were missing keeper pins, but Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that the Secretary did not prove the missing pins were reasonably likely to let…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2018-0169): Three serious-hazard findings affirmed
Consol Pennsylvania Coal did not dispute three violations at the Harvey Mine but challenged whether they were significant and substantial. One violation involved missing reflectorized signs required to warn miners about unsupported roof, and two involved badly damaged hoisting cables left available…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2018-0169): Eleven safety citations affirmed with reduced penalties
MSHA issued 11 citations at Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Harvey Mine involving unsupported-roof warnings, damaged electrical and hoisting cables, equipment certification and mapping records, training documentation, noise exposure, and ventilation controls. Judge William B. Moran affirmed…
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.