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 Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2016-421): Five unwarrantable-failure orders upheld
MSHA issued Peabody Midwest Mining five section 104(d)(2) orders involving loose ribs, an inadequate weekly examination, extensive combustible accumulations along a belt line, an inadequate belt examination, and inaccurate preshift records. Judge Priscilla M. Rae found 35 loose ribs across about…
Secretary of Labor v. Kenamerican Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Kenamerican Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2017-183): Challenge to special-assessment procedures denied
MSHA proposed $4,623 for an accumulation citation and special assessments of $12,300 and $55,200 for alleged on-shift and preshift examination violations at Kenamerican's Paradise No. 9 Mine. Kenamerican asked the judge to remand the two special assessments, arguing that MSHA's unpublished General…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2008-378-R, et al.): Accident-site citation remanded, examination-order vacatur affirmed
Black Beauty resumed mining and altered a roof-fall scene after reporting the incident to MSHA, and an ALJ affirmed an accident-site preservation citation after cutting short the hearing. The Commission held that an actual accident, meaning an injury with a reasonable potential to cause death…
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Co., LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Highland Mining Co., LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2013-112): Four litigated citations bring $15,096 penalty
MSHA litigated four citations against Highland Mining involving loose ribs, two misaligned conveyor belts, and an inadequate on-shift examination. Judge Kenneth R. Andrews affirmed the loose-rib violation but changed it to unlikely and non-S&S because miners traveled the area infrequently, reducing…
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 2009-1323, et al.): Inadequate belt examination affirmed on remand
The Commission reinstated an order involving an on-shift examination and sent the case back to determine whether Twentymile's examination was inadequate. Judge David F. Barbour found that extensive coal and dry coal-fines accumulations were present along the operating belt when the examination…
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Twentymile Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 2009-1323, WEST 2010-38, WEST 2010-578): Examination issue remanded and cable-insulation citation vacated
MSHA cited Twentymile Coal for an allegedly inadequate on-shift examination and for a communication cable that crossed power cables without added insulation. The Commission held that the judge misunderstood the shift evidence because Twentymile's own representations showed that the cited…
Martin County Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Martin County Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2012-615-R, et al.): Roof and rib citations modified, examination order vacated
MSHA cited Martin County Coal for unsupported roof and rib conditions along three conveyor belts and for inadequate on-shift examinations at its Voyager No. 7 underground mine. Judge Jerold Feldman credited the issuing inspectors enough to affirm the three roof-and-rib violations as significant and…
Secretary of Labor v. TRC Mining Corp.
Secretary of Labor v. TRC Mining Corp. (FMSHRC KENT 2011-332, KENT 2011-443): Four coal-mine citations modified and penalties cut to $14,500
The case addressed combustible accumulations along a belt, an inadequate belt examination, inoperable mantrip sanders, and accumulations on a working section. Judge Michael E. Zielinski affirmed all four violations but modified several enforcement findings. The belt accumulations remained S&S and…
Highland Mining Company, LLC
Highland Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2009-1582): One citation affirmed, nine modified, and three vacated
Highland Mining admitted many of the cited conditions at its Highland 9 underground coal mine but disputed significant and substantial and unwarrantable-failure findings across thirteen litigated enforcement actions. Judge Priscilla M. Rae evaluated roof and rib hazards, belt accumulations and…
Bledsoe Coal Corporation
Bledsoe Coal Corporation (FMSHRC KENT 2011-835): Fifteen S&S violations uphold pattern designation
MSHA placed Bledsoe Coal's Abner Branch Rider Mine under a pattern-of-violations designation after a follow-up inspection produced eighteen citations marked significant and substantial. The parties agreed that MSHA needed at least nine valid S&S citations to sustain the pattern action. Judge…
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.