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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Secretary of Labor v. Mill Branch Coal Corporation
Four S&S violations affirmed and two unwarrantable findings removed
Mill Branch Coal contested four enforcement actions at its underground Osaka Mine involving damaged roof bolts, an inadequate preshift examination, a non-permissible electrical box in a return air course, and an inadequate electrical examination. Judge Alan G. Paez found all four violations S&S and…
Rockhouse Energy Mining Co.
Pattern-screening citation contests produced mixed rulings
Rockhouse contested 23 citations because their S&S designations affected whether its underground mine might receive a pattern-of-violations notice. Judge David F. Barbour accelerated the hearing and issued bench rulings so MSHA could use the results in its pending pattern review. He upheld S&S…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Sealed-area pump citations vacated
Jim Walter Resources used nonpermissible deep well pumps to remove water from permanently sealed areas of its No. 4 and No. 7 mines. MSHA cited the pumps because their power connections were outby the last open crosscut, were not permissible, and were not in intake air. On cross-motions for summary…
Peabody Coal Company
Order modified and settlement approved
Peabody Coal contested a withdrawal order alleging that return air was reaching power connection points in the Martwick Underground Mine, and the parties separately settled another citation for a $100 penalty. Judge Gary Melick found that the ventilation violation occurred, but the Secretary did…
Zeigler Coal Company
Remand settlement approved, $275 penalty assessed
Zeigler Coal Company had previously been found to have violated 30 C.F.R. § 75.507 at its Murdock Mine. The Commission later affirmed the violation, vacated the significant-and-substantial finding, and remanded for further analysis. On remand, Judge George A. Koutras approved the parties'…
Zeigler Coal Company
Power-connection violation affirmed, S&S finding remanded
MSHA cited Zeigler Coal after inspectors found non-permissible golf-cart power connection points in return air outby the last open crosscut at an underground coal mine. The Commission agreed that, for purposes of 30 C.F.R. § 75.507, air that ventilated any working face could be treated as return…
Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company-York CNYN Complex
Penalties assessed and citations modified or vacated
The Secretary of Labor pursued 12 alleged violations across four dockets involving Pittsburg and Midway Coal Mining Company's York Canyon and Cimarron mines. The parties settled most citations, including agreements to remove several significant-and-substantial designations and pay specified…
Peabody Coal Company
Settlements approved, one citation vacated, and one roof-control citation affirmed
Peabody Coal Company operated the Camp No. 11 and Martwick underground coal mines. The judge approved settlements covering four violations, including ventilation, power connections, canopies and cabs, and fire-suppression equipment, for penalties totaling $565. For a roof-control citation at Camp…
Zeigler Coal Company
Power-connection violation affirmed with $275 penalty
Zeigler Coal Company operated the Murdock Mine, an underground bituminous coal mine. MSHA cited the company after return air was coursed over nonpermissible power connection points outby the last open crosscut, in violation of 30 C.F.R. § 75.507. Judge George A. Koutras found the violation…
Secretary of Labor v. Green River Coal Co., Inc.
Six mine-safety violations affirmed with $7,000 penalty
Green River operated the No. 9 underground coal mine in Kentucky, which employed about 200 miners and produced about one million tons of coal annually. The case involved inadequate ventilation that contributed to a methane explosion in which a loader operator suffered first- and second-degree…
Karst Robbins Coal Company, Inc.
Electrical and roof-safety violations affirmed
Karst Robbins Coal Company operated the No. 4 coal mine. The judge found that the company allowed an unqualified miner to work on a 480-volt trailing cable without direct supervision, failed to lock out or tag the circuit, kept a power center in a return air course, and left unsupported roof in a…
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.