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. CONSOL Mining Company, LLC
Unredacted penalty forms denied
CONSOL Mining Company asked the Secretary to produce unredacted special-assessment review forms related to two proposed penalties. The Secretary argued that the redacted portions contained deliberative communications protected by the deliberative-process privilege. Judge Alan G. Paez found the…
Varra Companies, Inc.
Seat-belt orders affirmed with $2,100 in penalties
Varra Companies operated a sand and gravel mine where MSHA cited several seat-belt violations involving a loader and two dozers. The company withdrew contests to three enforcement documents, and Judge John J. Morris affirmed those orders and the proposed $400 penalties. He also affirmed three…
Gatliff Coal Company, Inc.
Emergency communication violation found S&S and remanded for penalty reassessment
Gatliff Coal operated a surface coal mine where an employee died after a truck accident and workers had to leave the mine property to find a telephone because no company two-way radio was present. The Commission held that employee-owned CB radios did not satisfy the requirement for an…
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 When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.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.