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, MSHA v. Solar Sources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-942, et al.): Surface-equipment citations mostly affirmed
MSHA cited multiple equipment, brake, fire-protection, access, and examination conditions at Solar Sources' Craney and Lewis surface coal mines. Judge Richard W. Manning rejected Solar's argument that inspectors had to pause and allow pre-operational examinations before inspecting equipment…
Summit Anthracite, Inc.
Nineteen mine-startup citations yield $1,569 penalty
MSHA issued Summit Anthracite 19 citations while the small Brockton Slope mine was installing and starting new systems. The violations covered a late quarterly report, vehicle and roadway safety, electrical installation and examination defects, plan compliance, guarding, housekeeping, fire…
Pittsburg and Midway Coal, Mining Company-York Cnyn Complex
Backup alarm citation affirmed with $200 penalty
Pittsburg and Midway Coal operated the York Canyon Underground Mine, where MSHA cited an explosives truck with a nonfunctioning backup alarm. Judge John J. Morris found that the truck's rear view was obstructed by explosive boxes, so the pickup-truck exception in 30 C.F.R. § 77.410(a) did not…
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
Backup-alarm ruling remanded
MSHA cited Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company after finding that a truck at its York Canyon surface mine had an inoperative backup alarm. The ALJ found a violation of the backup-alarm standard and designated it significant and substantial, but applied an outdated version of the standard. The…
Kem Coal Incorporated
Seven citations settled and S&S findings removed
This civil penalty proceeding involved seven alleged violations at Kem Coal's No. 1 Surface Mine under standards in Parts 71 and 77 of the mine safety regulations. The parties agreed to settle the proposed penalties, reducing the total from $2,222 to $500. They also agreed to remove the…
Kem Coal Incorporated
Settlement approved and one citation vacated
This civil penalty proceeding involved four alleged violations of mandatory safety standards at Kem Coal's No. 2 Surface Mine. The parties settled three citations for $655, $595, and $595, and agreed that a fourth citation involving an inaudible backup alarm should be vacated because the vehicle…
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.