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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Secretary of Labor v. Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2013-781): low-air ventilation violation upheld as S&S
At Pinnacle's gassy underground coal mine, an MSHA inspector measured longwall-face air velocity at 435 feet per minute, below the 500 feet-per-minute minimum in the approved ventilation plan, while coal was actively being cut. Pinnacle admitted the violation and low negligence but disputed whether…
Dominion Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Dominion Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC VA 2012-163, et al.): Gas-well and preshift orders affirmed
A continuous miner at Dominion Coal's No. 36 Mine intersected a gas well that was not properly located, mapped, or protected by a barrier. MSHA issued three orders under separate standards governing gas-well protection and mine maps, plus a fourth order for an inadequate preshift examination…
Mach Mining, LLC
Mach Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2010-1-R): Ventilation plan rulings mostly affirmed with limited remand
Mach Mining contested two citations issued after it and MSHA reached an impasse over general and site-specific ventilation plans for the mine's unusual longwall system. The Commission majority held that termination of an earlier withdrawal order did not constitute the district manager's required…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.