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 v. Productos de Agregados de Gurabo
Unsafe-access citation lacked reliable proof
MSHA cited Productos de Agregados de Gurabo for allegedly requiring miners to climb a conveyor belt to grease its head pulley. The inspector did not observe anyone climbing the conveyor and relied primarily on his account that an equipment operator admitted using that route. The operator denied…
Cumberland Coal Resources, LP
Four lifeline violations affirmed but found non-S&S
MSHA cited four escapeway lifelines at Cumberland Mine that were hung too high, above equipment, cables, or waterlines, or from J-hooks that made them difficult to pull down. Judge Avram Weisberger found that the installations violated the requirement that lifelines be located for effective escape…
Three Star Drilling & Production Corporation
Oil-recovery project held subject to Mine Act jurisdiction
Three Star Drilling was developing an underground shaft and oil collector rooms as part of an oil-recovery project at DAD Well No. 1 in Illinois. The company argued that the project was not a Mine Act mine because oil would not be pumped while workers were underground, and that its operations did…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.