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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Ohio County Coal Company
Pry-bar citation dismissed and remaining penalties cut to $493
After settling 17 citations, Ohio County Coal contested the classifications and penalties for a loose roof bolt, a missing pry bar, and an improper cable splice. Chief Judge Susan L. Biro upheld the roof-control violation but made it non-S&S with low negligence because the loose bolt was near the…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Equipment and escapeway rulings split
MSHA cited conditions involving an interrupted escapeway lifeline, electrical cables and outlets, shop lighting, a missing rock bar, and airborne track-entry dust at Jim Walter's No. 7 Mine. Judge Avram Weisberger affirmed the lifeline violation because a six-foot gap through an airlock was not…
Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Three citations vacated, two affirmed or modified
Eastern Associated Coal operated the Harris No. 1 underground coal mine in West Virginia. During polyurethane roof grouting, falling roof material struck a contractor employee, causing a serious knee injury, and MSHA issued five citations. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon vacated three citations because the…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.