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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River Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. River Hill Coal Company, Inc.
River Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 2014-956 R): Deteriorated-plant violations affirmed
River Hill idled two coal-processing buildings but kept them powered and allowed an electrician to enter monthly despite severely corroded beams, floors, stairs, columns, and walkways. Judge L. Zane Gill rejected the operator's fair-notice defense because the structural-maintenance standard clearly…
Secretary of Labor v. Red River Coal Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Red River Coal Company, Inc. (FMSHRC VA 2014-236, et al.): Unwarrantable designations removed from five orders
The consolidated cases involved coal-dust accumulations, an on-shift examination, an unsafe elevated walkway, accident reporting, alteration of an accident scene, and three settled conditions at Red River Coal's No. 1 Prep Plant. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed the accident-reporting order, the…
Emerald Coal Resources, LP v. Secretary of Labor
Emerald Coal Resources, LP v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 2009-383-R, et al.): Second amended decision assesses $8,143
Emerald Coal Resources failed to keep deteriorated structural columns in its preparation plant in good repair and failed to provide a multi-gas detector to a separate group of four contractors working underground. Judge William S. Steele affirmed both citations. He found the structural violation…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.