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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C. W. Mining Company
Citations affirmed, modified, and vacated
C. W. Mining faced 18 citations at its Bear Canyon coal mines, including issues involving preshift examinations, electrical grounding, and electrical equipment. Judge Richard W. Manning vacated one citation, affirmed or modified the others, and assessed penalties based on the Mine Act criteria. The…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed as non-S&S after remand
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick UG Mine. After the Commission vacated an earlier decision and remanded the case, Judge Arthur J. Amchan applied the Mathies framework to two citations involving an external grounding device and an unmarked cathead. He affirmed both citations as…
Peabody Coal Company
Two citations affirmed as non-S&S
Peabody Coal operated the Martwick UG Mine. On remand from the Commission, Judge Arthur J. Amchan considered whether two citations were significant and substantial under the Commission's Mathies framework. He found that an unconnected external grounding device on a cathead violated 30 C.F.R. §…
Peabody Coal Company
Electrical citations affirmed as significant and substantial
MSHA cited Peabody Coal Company after finding that a cathead's external grounding wires were disconnected and that another cathead was not plainly marked. Judge Arthur J. Amchan found both violations significant and substantial under the Mathies test. He affirmed both citations and assessed a $189…
M A G Incorporated
Settlements totaling $21,000 approved across 14 dockets
M A G Incorporated contested 54 alleged safety and health violations across 14 dockets at Alloy Deep Mine No. 2. The parties reported that the operator was a small mine with poor financial condition, that no accidents or injuries resulted from the cited conditions, and that all conditions were…
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…
U.S. Steel Mining Company, Inc.
Trailing-cable citations affirmed
U.S. Steel Mining Company was cited because trailing-cable receptacles at its Cumberland Mine were not labeled to identify the equipment connected to them. Judge Paul Merlin held that the plug and receptacle together formed the disconnecting device covered by 30 C.F.R. § 75.601. He found that…
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.