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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Sims Crane v. Secretary of Labor
Sims Crane v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2017-97): Imminent-danger order vacated
An MSHA inspector issued an imminent-danger order after seeing a Sims Crane driver walk across a crane fender about seven feet above the ground without fall protection. The Commission had reopened the late contest and remanded it for a decision on the merits. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that the…
Cumberland Contura, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Cumberland Contura, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC PENN 2018-50 R): Imminent-danger rerailing order vacated
An MSHA inspector saw a miner walk between a rib and a derailed 20-ton locomotive while workers were preparing to rerail it, stopped the work, and issued a section 107(a) imminent-danger order within about three minutes. The judge credited the inspector's honest fear but held that the conclusion…
Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC
Peabody Twentymile Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2017-553, WEST 2017-247 R, WEST 2017-248 R): Feeder fishing violation modified and imminent danger vacated
Peabody Twentymile miners used a long hooked rod to remove wood and metal from a feeder, a decades-old practice called “fishing.” Judge Richard W. Manning held that fishing was preventive maintenance because it kept the feeder, pick breaker, and belt efficient and avoided later shutdowns, so the…
Secretary of Labor v. Knife River Construction
Secretary of Labor v. Knife River Construction (FMSHRC WEST 2013-827-RM, et al.): Loaded scraper's brake failure supported imminent-danger order
An MSHA inspector watched a fully loaded scraper fail to stop on a steep grade and continue toward a waste-dump embankment, then ordered it removed from service as an imminent danger. A Commission majority held that substantial evidence supported the Judge's finding that the inspector reasonably…
Spartan Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor
Spartan Mining Company v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-407-R): Imminent-danger order upheld for miner in red zone
An MSHA inspector saw a continuous-miner operator standing beside an energized machine while it trammed forward and backward in the prohibited red zone. The inspector immediately flashed his cap lamp to remove the miner, then notified nearby foremen within a minute that he had issued an…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2011-681-R; release caption SE 2012-681-R): Methane imminent-danger order affirmed
An MSHA inspector measured more than five percent methane in a roof cavity at Jim Walter Resources' No. 7 Mine and issued an imminent-danger withdrawal order. A Commission majority affirmed the ALJ because substantial evidence supported the inspector's conclusion that a nearby mobile…
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Jim Walter Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC SE 2011-407-R): Methane withdrawal order and evidentiary rulings affirmed
An MSHA inspector found 5.6 percent methane in a roof cavity in an active section of Jim Walter Resources' No. 7 Mine. Nearby roof-bolting work, a continuous miner, energized equipment, cables, and a recent roof fall supplied potential ignition sources. The Commission held that substantial evidence…
Mill Branch Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor
Mill Branch Coal Corporation v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC VA 2012-435-R, et al.): Imminent-danger order affirmed and examination findings remanded
Severe floor heave, deteriorating ribs, displaced roof-support jacks, blocked doors, and an obstructed primary escapeway developed while miners retrieved equipment from Mill Branch's Low Splint A Mine. The Commission affirmed the imminent-danger withdrawal order because the inspector reasonably…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2013-301, et al.): Flagrant designation deleted from coal-dust order
MSHA designated extensive combustible accumulations along Oak Grove Mine's Main North 3 belt as a repeated flagrant violation. Judge Jerold Feldman emphasized that the accumulations remained a serious alleged section 75.400 violation, but held that the flagrant statute requires a condition capable…
Knife River Construction v. Secretary of Labor
Knife River Construction v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2013-827-RM, et al.): brake citation reduced but imminent-danger order upheld
Knife River Construction operated an aggregate plant where an MSHA inspector saw a loaded scraper fail to stop on a steep grade and found two unattended vehicles parked on a slope without chocks or their wheels turned into a bank. Judge Richard W. Manning affirmed the imminent-danger withdrawal…
Cloverlick Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Cloverlick Coal Company, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC KENT 2012-699-R, et al.): imminent danger upheld but safe-access citation vacated
Cloverlick Coal's contractor excavated a foundation hole below a steep, wet bank containing loose rock and soil for a new coal-stacker support. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy upheld MSHA's imminent-danger order because construction was about to continue, miners had entered or would need to enter the…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor, MSHA
Jim Walter Resources, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2012-681-R): Methane imminent-danger order affirmed
Jim Walter Resources contested an imminent-danger withdrawal order issued at its underground No. 7 coal mine after an MSHA inspector measured methane above the explosive threshold in a roof cavity. Judge James G. Gilbert found that several fixed electrical sources were too far downwind to pose a…
Secretary of Labor v. Ludwig Explosives, Inc. and Tuscola Stone Company
Secretary of Labor v. Ludwig Explosives, Inc. and Tuscola Stone Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2012-25-M et al.): Unscaled highwall violations upheld
Two blasters worked near the base of a 40-foot highwall made of loose, unconsolidated material after heavy rain and observed rock falls. Judge John Kent Lewis held both Tuscola Stone and blasting contractor Ludwig Explosives responsible under 30 C.F.R. § 56.3200: Tuscola failed to test and scale…
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.