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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Harlan Cumberland Coal Company
Consolidated penalties partly affirmed, vacated, and settled
Harlan Cumberland Coal Company faced civil-penalty proceedings involving five dockets and multiple alleged safety violations. The parties settled some citations, while Judge Roy J. Maurer decided the remaining disputes. The judge affirmed many citations, vacated some citations for insufficient…
Consolidation Coal Company
Trolley-switch citation vacated
Consolidation Coal used a trolley switch as a dead block at its Osage No. 3 Mine after removing the switch handle and blade but leaving the fingers attached. MSHA cited the practice under 30 C.F.R. § 75.520, and the Secretary sought a $50 civil penalty. Judge David F. Barbour found that the switch…
Harman Mining Corp.
Motion to amend denied after mine abandonment
MSHA originally charged Harman Mining with violating 30 C.F.R. § 75.520 after finding bare pump-cable wires inserted into a receptacle. The Secretary later sought to amend the citation and order to charge 30 C.F.R. § 75.514 instead. Judge Gary Melick found that the mine had been permanently…
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…
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.