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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Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Pocahontas Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2014-642-R, et al.): Direct safeguard challenges dismissed
MSHA issued five mine-specific safeguard notices governing transportation at Pocahontas Coal's Affinity Mine. Pocahontas directly contested the notices before any citation alleged a violation of them. The Commission majority held that safeguard notices function as mine-specific mandatory standards…
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. Black Beauty Coal Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2009-570): Modified belt-travelway safeguard upheld
MSHA issued Black Beauty Coal a safeguard requiring 24-inch travelways beside belt conveyors after fallen coal and rock blocked both sides of a belt. A later modification required those travelways to be clear of mud and water, and MSHA issued four citations for violating the modified safeguard. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2009-261-R, et al.): Safeguard violation affirmed but S&S reversed
Oak Grove pushed a haulage car carrying a 24-ton shearer body on its main haulage road despite a mine-specific safeguard prohibiting the pushing of cars there. During the move, the carrier derailed, two locomotives rolled downhill, and a miner was pinned against the carrier and fatally injured. The…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.