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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American Tripoli v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. American Tripoli
American Tripoli v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2025-0086): Backpay-enforcement citation and order affirmed
An earlier discrimination decision ordered American Tripoli to pay former miner Robert Baumann back pay and interest. The company did not pay while Commission review was pending, even after the Commission denied its request to stay enforcement. MSHA issued a citation for failing to comply with the…
Secretary of Labor obo Robert Baumann v. MOsenecaManufacturer LLC dba American Tripoli
Secretary of Labor obo Robert Baumann v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0251): Backpay stay denied during appeal
An ALJ found that American Tripoli discriminated against miner representative Robert Baumann and ordered $10,552 in backpay plus interest, along with civil penalties. The operator appealed and sought to stay the backpay award after MSHA warned that nonpayment could lead to enforcement action. The…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0334): Enforcement citations and withdrawal order affirmed
Grimes Rock did not timely pay $12,533.94 in temporary economic reinstatement that an earlier judge had ordered for miner Alvaro Saldivar. MSHA cited the company, issued a section 104(b) withdrawal order when it failed to abate, and issued another citation when mine operations continued despite…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (amended)
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0178): Reinstatement continued through finality and required full pay
Alvaro Saldivar received temporary economic reinstatement after alleging that Grimes Rock fired him for safety complaints, with the company initially paying the difference between his new wages and his former mine wages. After Saldivar was incarcerated and Grimes discovered additional…
Secretary of Labor v. CONSOL Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. CONSOL Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0141): Judge could not strike settlement arguments
A Judge denied a settlement motion without reviewing the agreement and struck the Secretary's argument and supporting Commission cases. The Commission held that presenting those authorities did not violate its procedural rules and that striking them could prevent the Secretary from preserving…
IMI Aggregates, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
IMI Aggregates v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2023-0249): Expedited hearing request denied
MSHA cited IMI Aggregates for failing to provide nonconductive material at an emergency-stop switch for a conveyor. IMI sought an expedited hearing, arguing that similar citations at 21 other mines could require costly electrical work, shutdowns, and lost production. The judge found those concerns…
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0024): Unrelated abatement order was not required for settlement
Perry County Resources and the Secretary proposed settling four citations involving roof support, escapeways, a lifeline, and equipment guarding. A Judge denied approval because the Secretary would not provide a separate failure-to-abate order associated with a citation Perry accepted as written…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0094): Lifeline over hoses violated the escape standard
Consol operated the Harvey Mine, where an emergency lifeline ran directly above nine hydraulic hoses in a longwall escapeway. The hoses extended as much as 43 inches into the route and rose as high as 38 inches above the floor. The Commission held that a lifeline is not located for effective escape…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0178): Stay of reinstatement-payment enforcement denied
Alvaro Saldivar received temporary economic reinstatement while his discrimination case against Grimes Rock proceeded, with outside earnings offset against the operator's payments. After periods when Saldivar was unavailable for work and later had no outside job, a judge ordered Grimes Rock to pay…
Secretary of Labor v. Westfall Aggregate & Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Westfall Aggregate & Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0317 M): No final order without proof of a written citation
Westfall Aggregate & Materials, Inc. asked the Commission to reopen a $16,400 special assessment tied to Citation No. 6559330, about seven years after the assessment allegedly became final. The Commission majority found that the record contained MSHA's internal special-assessment documentation but…
BC Quarries, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. BC Quarries, LLC
BC Quarries, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. BC Quarries, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0110-RM): Most withdrawal orders upheld, two vacated
BC Quarries operates the Shirvan Quarry, a Pennsylvania surface mine that produces dimension stone. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy dismissed eight citation contests because BC Quarries did not timely contest the related penalty assessments, which had already become final Commission orders. Of the eleven…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0099): Berm penalty reduced to $40,000
Solar Sources Mining violated the berm standard at a surface coal mine after a haul truck went over a dumpsite edge and the driver was injured while escaping. The citation's S&S, unwarrantable-failure, high-negligence, and serious-gravity findings were no longer disputed; the appeal concerned the…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0450): Refuge-chamber penalty reduced on remand
Peabody Midwest violated its emergency response plan by placing one refuge chamber in the direct line of sight of the working face. On review of an earlier ALJ ruling, the Commission removed the significant-and-substantial designation because more than 15 miners were present only during shift…
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0087-R): Ventilation-plan revocation vacated
MSHA revoked Knight Hawk Coal's long-approved ventilation plan for perimeter mining at the Prairie Eagle Underground Mine and cited the company for operating without an approved plan. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that MSHA relied on unreliable smoke testing and evidence of agency bias against…
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0087-R): Initial ventilation-plan ruling later amended
MSHA revoked Knight Hawk Coal's approved ventilation plan for perimeter mining at the Prairie Eagle Underground Mine and cited the company for operating without an approved plan. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that MSHA relied on unreliable smoke testing and evidence of agency bias, while failing…
Secretary of Labor v. Yahara Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Yahara Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0025): Dump-site berm citation settled for $286
MSHA cited Yahara Materials for failing to provide a berm at a dump site and proposed a $2,361 penalty. In settlement, the operator asserted that a spotter and berms were present, while the Secretary declined to provide requested inspection photographs. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy approved 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.