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. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0079): Ground-control citation upheld after falling-tree accident
A large tree fell from above a surface-mine highwall onto a pickup truck traveling below, killing one miner and seriously injuring another. The judge held that Nally & Hamilton violated its approved ground-control plan by leaving trees too close to the highwall edge without an adequate drop bench…
Secretary of Labor v. Thunder Basin Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Thunder Basin Coal Company (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0157): Ground-control-plan citation vacated
MSHA cited Thunder Basin Coal after an inspector saw dozer and haul-truck tire marks near a berm at the Black Thunder Mine and concluded that the ground control plan did not adequately address rollover and breakthrough hazards. Mine witnesses testified that the berm was stable, the tire impressions…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0428): Blasting, training, and equipment settlement approved
This settlement resolved sixteen citations that had been moved from the related WEVA 2022-0301 docket. One equipment citation remained at $4,624 after ten defects were found on a haul truck and eight remained uncorrected thirteen days later, prompting a section 104(b) order. Three other citations…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.