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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Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Caballo Mining, LLC
Ladder violation modified and conveyor citation vacated
MSHA cited two conditions at Peabody Caballo's Rawhide surface coal mine and proposed $734 in penalties. Judge Richard W. Manning found that pipes behind a fixed ladder left less than the required three inches of toe clearance and created an S&S fall hazard. Because the ladder and pipes had existed…
Joshua Coal Company
Two citations vacated and two affirmed
MSHA cited Joshua Coal Company's small surface coal operation for guarding, vehicle alarms, miner training records, and access to a fuel tank. Judge Jerold Feldman vacated the pump-guarding citation because the evidence did not show a reasonable possibility of inadvertent contact, and vacated the…
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Six citations affirmed and two vacated
Williams Brothers Coal Company operated the No. 3 Mine in eastern Kentucky. MSHA issued eight citations involving boreholes, examination records, lighting, insulation mats, coal dust and oil, a ladder, roof-bolt torque testing, and ventilation. Judge Arthur J. Amchan affirmed six citations as…
Amax Coal West Incorporated
Citations vacated because the wrong operator was cited
Amax Coal West operated the Belle Ayr strip coal mine, where independent contractors installed and used two tanks for spraying dust suppressant on coal. MSHA cited Amax for ladder violations on the tanks and sought a $100 penalty. Judge T. Todd Hodgdon found that the tanks and cited conditions were…
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.