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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Perry County Coal Corp.
Two electrical citations dismissed and one affirmed
MSHA cited Perry County Coal after an electrician received electrical burns while attempting to energize a pump at the HZ4-1 mine. Judge Avram Weisberger dismissed two citations because the Secretary did not prove that the breaker settings failed the applicable short-circuit protection requirement…
Primrose Coal Company
Electrical citations affirmed
Primrose Coal Company operated the Primrose Slope mine in Pennsylvania. Judge Gary Melick considered three consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving electrical grounding, bonding, and frame-grounding requirements. He affirmed the citations, approved a reduced settlement penalty for some…
Consolidation Coal Company
Consolidated electrical and cleanup violations decided
MSHA brought four consolidated proceedings against Consolidation Coal Company involving electrical bonding, coal cleanup, electrical equipment, and examination conditions at the Arkwright No. 1 and Blacksville No. 2 Mines. Judge George A. Koutras found a mix of violations, modifying several orders…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlements approved across consolidated penalty cases
Consolidation Coal Company and the Secretary of Labor presented settlements covering one contest proceeding and eleven civil penalty proceedings involving several coal mines. Judge David Barbour approved the settlements after finding them in the public interest. The order reduced or vacated several…
Consolidation Coal Company
Settlements approved, citation modified, and citation vacated
Consolidation Coal reached settlements covering roof support, an electrical pump, an unreported silo fire, and an allegedly inadequate preshift examination. Judge Paul Merlin approved the settlements, modified the roof-support citation to non-S&S with a $155 penalty, and kept the $259 penalty for…
Thomas Cates, Employed by Green River Coal Company, Incorporated
Consolidated penalty cases dismissed
The Secretary of Labor brought civil penalty proceedings against Thomas Cates and Stephen Whitledge, agents of Green River Coal Company, under section 110(c) of the Mine Act. The cases alleged that they knowingly authorized, ordered, or carried out a mine operator's electrical-safety violation…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Electrical-protection order modified and settlements approved
Southern Ohio Coal Company challenged three orders issued at its Martinka No. 1 Mine, and the Secretary proposed penalties totaling $2,200. The parties settled two orders for $500 each. Judge Roy J. Maurer found that the remaining order correctly identified inadequate short-circuit protection for a…
Southern Ohio Coal Company
Mixed contest and penalty dispositions
Southern Ohio Coal Company challenged multiple MSHA citations and orders involving muddy haulage roads, unsupported roof, exposed electrical equipment, an unguarded fluid coupler, and an unsafe slope near a highwall. Judge William Fauver approved settlements in several matters, affirmed several…
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.