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 obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0178): Judge retained jurisdiction after premature appeal
The Commission had remanded Saldivar's discrimination case to the ALJ for additional findings. Before the ALJ ruled on remand, Grimes Rock appealed to the Ninth Circuit. The court dismissed the appeal because a Commission remand order is not a final agency decision and later returned jurisdiction…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2023-0015): Stay request denied
Grimes Rock asked the judge to stay three enforcement proceedings while the Ninth Circuit considered a related temporary-reinstatement appeal. The company argued that the court of appeals had exclusive jurisdiction and that its ruling could undermine the orders on which MSHA's citations and…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0010 M): Contest filing triggered Commission jurisdiction
Cactus Canyon Quarries appealed an order that gave the Secretary more time to file a penalty petition and argued that the Commission lacked jurisdiction before that petition was filed. Judge Richard W. Manning rejected that position and held that Commission jurisdiction attached when Cactus Canyon…
Maria T. Walker v. Capurro Trucking
Maria T. Walker v. Capurro Trucking (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0183): Discrimination complaint dismissed on summary decision
Maria Walker filed her own Mine Act discrimination case after MSHA declined to prosecute her complaint against former employer Capurro Trucking. She alleged disparate treatment and challenged the company's reasons for terminating her ore-haul truck driver employment. Judge John T. Sullivan reviewed…
Theodore Oesau v. Rogers Group, Inc.
Theodore Oesau v. Rogers Group, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2019-0276-DM): Faxed review petition considered but denied
Theodore Oesau sought Commission review after an ALJ dismissed his discrimination complaint. His counsel filed the petition only by fax even though the Commission had warned that pandemic conditions prevented it from monitoring fax and physical mail. Because the rules still permitted fax filing…
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.