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. Peabody Gateway North Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Gateway North Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2023-0139): Roof-control order affirmed and citation modified
MSHA issued an order and a citation after two separate roof falls at Peabody's underground coal mine struck miners in December 2022. For the first incident, the Judge found that Peabody exceeded width limits in its approved roof-control plan and failed to take added measures for visible adverse…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0160): S&S settlement question certified for review
Knight Hawk Coal and the Secretary proposed settling three citations by removing the significant and substantial designation from two and reducing total penalties from $7,960 to $4,590. Judge Michael G. Young accepted the explanation for one S&S removal but found insufficient factual support for…
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…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Buchanan Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Buchanan Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC VA 2012-0042): Roof-plan violation remained non-S&S on remand
Consol Buchanan took a crosscut about two to three-and-a-half feet deeper than its roof control plan allowed in adverse roof conditions. The violation itself had already been affirmed, but a federal appeals court remanded the S&S question and directed the judge not to rely on redundant safety…
Warrior Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Coal, LLC
Warrior Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2011-1084-R, et al.): Roof and rib violations yielded $129,250 penalty
MSHA cited Warrior Coal after inspectors found an excessively wide entry and extensive unstable roof and rib conditions in the Cardinal underground coal mine's No. 2 unit. The case covered a roof-control-plan violation, an imminent-danger order involving roof bolters beside an overhanging rock rib…
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.