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.
No decisions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Williams Brothers Coal Co., Inc.
Four citations modified and $561 penalty assessed
Williams Brothers Coal Company operated the small No. 3 underground coal mine in Pike County, Kentucky. MSHA cited the mine after an inspection found electrical grounding and de-energization problems, conveyor and belt-line maintenance issues, a missing mine map, and a non-functioning fire sensor…
Primrose Coal Company
Electrical citations affirmed
Primrose Coal Company operated the Primrose Slope mine in Pennsylvania. Judge Gary Melick considered three consolidated civil penalty proceedings involving electrical grounding, bonding, and frame-grounding requirements. He affirmed the citations, approved a reduced settlement penalty for some…
San Juan Coal Company
Grounding citations vacated and highwall citation affirmed
San Juan Coal Company operated the San Juan Mine and Plant and the La Plata Mine. The parties settled 22 of 26 alleged violations, including a CENT 90-110 citation that was modified and resolved with a $147 penalty. The judge vacated three grounding citations involving two toaster ovens and a…
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company
One citation vacated and two affirmed
Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Company faced three electrical safety citations at the Kemmerer Mine. The judge vacated the citation for a missing straining clamp because wooden blocks inside the junction box adequately protected the cable. He affirmed citations for an ungrounded space heater and an…
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.