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.

13,427 decisions and counting · Latest decision August 18, 2026
4 decisions 30 C.F.R. § 75.333(b)(3)

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ALJ

Secretary of Labor v. Bristol Coal Corp.

Twenty-one citations settled for $4,440

Bristol Coal agreed to pay the full proposed penalties for 19 citations and reduced amounts for two others. For an escapeway citation under 30 C.F.R. § 75.380(d)(7)(viii), the parties identified disputes over how long the condition existed, negligence, and the number of miners affected. For a…

August 15, 2014 ·William B. Moran ·FMSHRC
Settled
ALJ

Secretary of Labor v. Knox Creek Coal Corporation

Tiller No. 1 cases produce $71,707 penalty

These consolidated cases covered dozens of citations and an order issued during an impact inspection at Knox Creek's methane-prone Tiller No. 1 underground coal mine. The litigated matters involved roof and rib control, preshift examinations, electrical permissibility and trailing cables, equipment…

December 27, 2010 ·David F. Barbour ·FMSHRC
Modified
ALJ

Basin Resources, Incorporated

42-violation decision with $32,600 assessed

Basin Resources operated the Golden Eagle underground coal mine in Colorado, which later closed. Judge Richard W. Manning denied the Secretary's motion to add Basin's parent companies as respondents because the evidence did not show that they controlled or supervised the mine's day-to-day…

April 7, 1997 ·Richard W. Manning ·FMSHRC
Mixed result
ALJ

Jim Walter Resources, Inc.

Contest resolved and settlements approved

Judge David F. Barbour resolved a consolidated group of contest and civil-penalty proceedings involving Jim Walter Resources and several individuals at the No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 Mines. He affirmed an order issued after a hoisting-equipment accident and affirmed the related reporting citation…

February 23, 1995 ·David F. Barbour ·FMSHRC
Mixed result

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.