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. Newtown Energy, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Newtown Energy, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2011-283): $7,578 electrical lockout citation affirmed on remand
A Newtown Energy mine superintendent repaired a shuttle-car power cable with an exposed conductor while the cable connector's lock still held its key, violating the lockout and tagout requirement in 30 C.F.R. § 75.511. The Commission had already held that the violation was S&S, involved high…
Secretary of Labor v. Newtown Energy, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Newtown Energy, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2011-283): Key left in a lockout lock is significant and substantial, and the Commission restates the Mathies hazard test
During a 2010 inspection at Newtown Energy's Coalburg No. 2 Mine in West Virginia, an MSHA inspector asked the mine superintendent to lock out a shuttle car's power connection so the trailing cable could be inspected. The superintendent borrowed a lock, could not get the key back out, and left the…
Secretary of Labor obo Lawrence D. Hagene v. Prairie State Generating Co., LLC and GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Secretary of Labor obo Lawrence D. Hagene v. Prairie State Generating Co., LLC and GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2016-101-D): Temporary reinstatement denied
Lawrence Hagene worked for contractor GMS as an electrician at Prairie State's Lively Grove Mine. After a roof fall damaged a 995-volt trailing cable, Hagene removed his personal lock and approved tag near the end of his shift and left a makeshift paper warning on the cable cathead. GMS terminated…
Secretary of Labor v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy, Incorporated
Secretary of Labor v. Regent Allied Carbon Energy, Incorporated (FMSHRC VA 2013-0404): Unlocked cable-work citation affirmed at $11,500
During a mine-wide power outage, a Regent Allied foreman directed unqualified miners to handle, inspect, and re-tape splices along a shuttle-car trailing cable without locking and tagging out the cable's disconnect. Power was restored while the work area was not visible from the power center…
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.