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. Little Buck Coal Company #2
Five mine-safety violations upheld with $8,308 penalty
Little Buck Coal Company #2 operated a small underground anthracite mine where it developed entries beyond and in directions not authorized by its approved roof-control and ventilation plans. MSHA cited the company for the plan departures, failure to examine and ventilate a barricaded dead-air…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Six citations affirmed, three vacated, and $501 penalty assessed
MSHA charged Williams Brothers Coal Company with ten violations at its underground No. 3 Mine involving fire-fighting equipment, roof control, ventilation, electrical equipment, and other safety conditions. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed six citations, vacated three, and ordered the company to pay…
Broken Hill Mining Company, Incorporated
Settlement approved with $1,254 penalty
Broken Hill Mining Company agreed to settle all citations in two civil penalty proceedings. The proposed penalties totaled $1,747, and the approved settlement reduced the payment to $1,254. The Judge vacated and dismissed two citations, modified four others as specified in the settlement, and…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.