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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Secretary of Labor v. The Kraemer Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. The Kraemer Company, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-222 M): Hazardous highwall citation affirmed
The Kraemer Company operated a limestone quarry where miners used loaders and parked personal vehicles near a 40-foot highwall. MSHA cited the company under 30 C.F.R. § 56.3200 for allowing travel near cracked, loose, and unsupported ground without a barrier or warning. The Judge credited the…
Secretary of Labor v. Teichert Aggregates
Secretary of Labor v. Teichert Aggregates (FMSHRC WEST 2017-28): Handrail did not adequately guard head pulley
Teichert Aggregates operated a surface sand and gravel mine where a conveyor head pulley could be reached from a work platform surrounded by handrails. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the handrails did not adequately guard the moving parts because a miner could climb through or over them, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Arnold Stone, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Arnold Stone, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2016-540): Exposed energized saw controls required lockout
Arnold Stone removed a touch-screen control from a large saw, leaving electrical wires exposed while the power disconnect was unlocked and untagged. A supervisor later energized the saw and left it on while miners had access to the building. Judge Margaret A. Miller held that the repair remained…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2014-746): Original decision on slope belt accumulations and the examination record
MSHA cited Mach Mining for coal dust and loose coal built up along the 3,600-foot slope belt at its Mach No. 1 Mine in Illinois, including places where coal was touching rollers or the moving belt, and separately for a pre-shift examination record that noted only that the slope belt needed…
Foundation Coal West, Inc.
Foundation Coal West, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2009-1153): Unbermed drill bench treated as an elevated roadway
Foundation Coal West contested a citation for failing to provide a berm along the elevated 21 Bench at its Eagle Butte surface coal mine. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that vehicles commonly traveled the bench during routine drilling and blasting, making it a roadway covered by 30 C.F.R. §…
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.