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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Consolidation Coal Company
Ventilation-plan order reduced to non-S&S citation
MSHA cited Consolidation Coal after an indicator ribbon used to show ventilation-fan operation was not moving in an idle area of Buchanan Mine No. 1. Judge George A. Koutras found a violation of the approved ventilation plan but concluded that the evidence did not establish a reasonably likely…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Bryan Pack v. Maynard Branch Dredging Company and Roger Kirk
Discrimination dismissal affirmed
Bryan Pack reported improperly stored dynamite and detonators at a coal dredging and preparation facility to MSHA inspectors. The operator then discharged him. The ALJ found that Pack engaged in protected activity and that the discharge was partly motivated by that activity, but also found that the…
Maynard Branch Dredging Co., and Roger Kirk
Discrimination proceeding dismissed
Bryan Pack worked as a night security guard at Maynard Branch Dredging and reported to federal mine inspectors that dynamite and blasting caps were stored in a school bus used at the worksite. The inspector found the explosives and cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1301(a). The company…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.