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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Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0045): Mine jurisdiction upheld and citations split
Cactus Canyon challenged MSHA's authority over its Fairland stone-processing plant and the related Clendennen Ranch quarry. The judge held that the plant performed milling and that both facilities were mines covered by the Mine Act. Of ten citations, he vacated four, affirmed three as issued, and…
Mineral Manufacturing Corp. v. Secretary of Labor & Secretary of Labor v. Mineral Manufacturing Corp.
Mineral Manufacturing Corp. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0191): MSHA has jurisdiction over the Eufaula Plant
Mineral Manufacturing argued that its Eufaula Plant made ceramics and belonged under OSHA jurisdiction rather than MSHA jurisdiction. The judge found that the plant milled kaolin clay by crushing, reducing particle size, kiln treating, and sizing the material before selling the resulting mullite…
Secretary of Labor v. Arepet Industries, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Arepet Industries (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0221): MSHA jurisdiction over sand plant upheld
Arepet Industries argued that its Von Ormy sand plant belonged under OSHA because it bought commercially available wet sand and did not extract minerals. The plant stockpiled and dried the sand, used a separator to remove waste, and sold the processed material for use at oil and gas drilling sites…
Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2019-0458): MSHA lacked jurisdiction at offsite truck facility
KC Transport is an independent trucking company that maintained coal-haul and non-mining trucks at an offsite West Virginia facility. MSHA cited two trucks there because they were not blocked against motion while raised for repair. A Commission majority reversed the judge and held that neither the…
Secretary of Labor v. The Creator's Stone
Secretary of Labor v. The Creator's Stone (FMSHRC CENT 2020-0067): Small stone quarry held subject to Mine Act
The Creator's Stone removed layered stone from a small Arkansas site, broke and sorted pieces, stacked them on pallets, and sold the stone. The owner argued that the operation was a borrow pit rather than a mine and therefore did not need to notify MSHA or provide new-miner training. Judge William…
Jones Brothers, Inc. v Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Jones Brothers, Inc.
Jones Brothers, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2016-0218 RM): Road-project excavation held to be a mine
Jones Brothers excavated limestone for a Tennessee highway repair project by drilling, blasting, breaking oversized rock, separating dirt, and selecting rock that met state size and drainage specifications. The company argued that the site was a borrow pit outside MSHA jurisdiction. After a new…
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.