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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Broken Hill Mining Company
Default judgment affirmed across eight serious mine-safety orders
Broken Hill Mining operated Mine No. 3, and the operator did not appear at a scheduled hearing after receiving notice. The judge treated the operator’s absence as a default, affirmed eight orders involving electrical protection, cable splices, combustible accumulations, roof control, and…
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…
Mid-Continent Resources, Inc.
Ventilation violation upheld and individual proceeding dismissed
Mid-Continent Resources changed the approved ventilation system at its Dutch Creek Mine after the mine stopped producing coal, without first obtaining MSHA approval. The judge found that the mine remained active for ventilation, pumping, and patrol work, and that the changes violated 30 C.F.R. §…
Cross Mountain Coal Inc.
Mixed citation dispositions and settlements ordered
Cross Mountain Coal was cited at its No. 6 Mine for electrical, respirable-dust, cable-splice, and roof-control conditions. The judge found violations involving ground-monitor circuits, a trailing-cable splice, roof support, and failure to follow the approved roof control plan. The judge modified…
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.