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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Black Panther Mining, LLC
Belt-maintenance order vacated and two citations settled
MSHA alleged that Black Panther's maintenance chief repaired a conveyor belt without removing power and blocking the machinery against motion, an S&S and unwarrantable-failure violation of section 75.1725(c). Judge Thomas P. McCarthy credited the operator's witnesses that three circuits had been…
Black Panther Mining, LLC
Original belt-maintenance decision later amended
MSHA alleged that Black Panther's maintenance chief repaired a conveyor belt without removing power and blocking the machinery against motion, an S&S and unwarrantable-failure violation of section 75.1725(c). Judge Thomas P. McCarthy credited the operator's witnesses that three circuits had been…
American Coal Company
Seven violations upheld and $37,300 assessed
MSHA litigated eight violations involving American Coal's large underground Galatia Mine after the parties resolved 32 other violations. Judge Michael E. Zielinski upheld the validity of a mine-specific safeguard requiring loose or dislodged bridge boards to be secured or removed from travelways…
Target Industries, Inc.
Multiple fan violations affirmed and penalties assessed
Target Industries operated the Target No. 1 Mine, where MSHA cited ventilation and fan conditions across six consolidated dockets. Judge David Barbour found multiple violations involving fan signals, testing, continuous operation, methane ventilation, and withdrawal of miners, and found several…
Buck Creek Coal Company, Inc.
Preshift violation upheld, S&S finding reversed, penalty remanded
Buck Creek operates an underground coal mine in Sullivan, Indiana. MSHA alleged that three miners entered the mine before the required preshift examination was completed and recorded at the surface. The Commission upheld the violation and the finding of unwarrantable failure, reversed the judge's…
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.