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. Doe Run Co.
Secretary of Labor v. Doe Run Co. (FMSHRC CENT 2025-0167): Pressure-vessel citation affirmed
Doe Run operates an underground lead, copper, and zinc mine where a 250-gallon pressurized water tank on a drill had not been inspected by a certified National Board inspector during roughly 20 years of use. MSHA cited 30 C.F.R. § 57.13015(a), and Doe Run argued that a 2004 National Board document…
Secretary of Labor v. Harrison County Coal Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Harrison County Coal Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2024-0205): Three coal-mine citations upheld with one negligence reduction
MSHA cited Harrison County Coal Resources for an inadequately guarded shuttle-car cable reel, travel under unsupported roof, and a hole in a permanent ventilation stopping. The Judge found that gaps in a makeshift rubber cover could allow contact with the moving chain and spool, even though an…
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0079): Highwall examination ruling reversed
A tree fell from above a surface mine highwall onto a truck traveling below, killing one miner and seriously injuring another. MSHA alleged that Nally & Hamilton's on-shift examinations failed to identify, report, and correct the tree hazard, but the judge vacated the order because the land above…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Mountain Quarry LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Mountain Quarry LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2024-0218): Impact-inspection citations largely affirmed
MSHA issued numerous citations during an impact inspection of Iron Mountain's quarry, including housekeeping violations, falling-material hazards under conveyor belts, an unsafe sagging catwalk, and a missing electrical cover plate. After a two-day hearing, the Judge credited the inspectors'…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0182): Methane, reporting, and accident-scene citations upheld
Warrior Met contested three citations involving a miscalibrated methane monitor and its response to an elevator accident caused by falling ice. The Judge found the monitor violation significant and substantial because the mine liberates large amounts of methane and the inaccurate reading could…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0248): Ground-control and fire-boss citations upheld
MSHA issued 23 citations at Morton Salt's Weeks Island underground salt mine, a Class II-A domal salt mine with hazards from loose salt scales and unpredictable methane releases. The parties settled 17 citations for $38,320, including one vacatur and several reductions in gravity, negligence, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0174): Longwall roof-control citation affirmed
MSHA cited Peabody after an unplanned roof fall and deteriorating supports affected the tailgate of the Shoal Creek Mine's J-2 longwall. The inspector observed crushed pumpable supports, fractured roof, and a roof fall blocking the tailgate, while examinations, air readings, and installation of…
Secretary of Labor v. Rain-for-Rent
Secretary of Labor v. Rain-for-Rent (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0291): Truck fire-warning and extinguisher citations upheld
MSHA cited a Rain-for-Rent service truck at the Kemmerer Mine because it carried oil and flammable aerosol products without readily visible warnings against both smoking and open flames. MSHA also found that the truck's fire extinguisher had a torn inspection tag that did not show the date of its…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0065, SE 2023-0102): Slope-belt accumulation orders upheld and modified
MSHA found extensive combustible coal accumulations along Peabody Southeast Mining's slope belt and tail area, including material touching the moving belt and rollers. Damaged and locked rollers supplied potential ignition sources. The mine's examination records had noted accumulations for several…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0020): Rib, examination, and coal-accumulation orders upheld
Three litigated orders at Peabody's Shoal Creek Mine concerned extensive loose ribs along a conveyor walkway, an inadequate preshift examination that failed to identify those conditions, and combustible coal accumulations around the Mother Belt. The Judge found five loose-rib sections extending…
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 v. Genesis Alkali, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Genesis Alkali, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0189): Unsupported settlements remained denied
A judge rejected proposed settlements covering 34 citations because major modifications and vacaturs lacked enough factual support. One proposal would have reduced a ventilation citation from S&S and fatal gravity to non-S&S and lost-workdays gravity, with a penalty cut from $12,007 to $729…
Secretary of Labor v. Gentry Mountain Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Gentry Mountain Mining, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2024-0064): Safety findings affirmed and penalties increased
MSHA cited Gentry Mountain's underground coal mine for loose ribs along a haulage way, a come-along missing safety latches, a Jeep parked beneath the lifeline in the primary escapeway, and two nonfunctioning methane monitors. The Judge affirmed the loose-rib citation as significant and substantial…
Secretary of Labor v. Bluestone Oil Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Bluestone Oil Corporation (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0176): Unsupported S&S removals rejected
Bluestone Oil’s proposed settlement covered twenty-four citations and would have reduced total penalties from $51,023 to $30,500. It also would have removed the significant-and-substantial designations from two citations without providing a factual justification. The Administrative Law Judge denied…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0152): Retaliatory discipline and terminations remedied
Timothy Barnes and Brandon Hall operated a longwall shearer at Warrior Met's No. 7 Mine and were disciplined after running it more slowly than management directed under conditions they believed were unsafe. They were placed on probation and later terminated near the end of that probation after a…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Paul Kirk v. CEMEX Construction Materials Florida, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Paul Kirk v. CEMEX Construction Materials Florida, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0007): Discipline for kiln-dust complaint found discriminatory
Paul Kirk, an electrician and union president at CEMEX's cement plant, raised concerns about hot dust escaping from a kiln and interrupted a management meeting when he believed the problem had not been addressed. MSHA inspected after an anonymous complaint and cited the plant for kiln conditions…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Gateway North Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Gateway North Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2023-0139): Roof-control order affirmed and citation modified
MSHA issued an order and a citation after two separate roof falls at Peabody's underground coal mine struck miners in December 2022. For the first incident, the Judge found that Peabody exceeded width limits in its approved roof-control plan and failed to take added measures for visible adverse…
Secretary of Labor v. W.G. Yates & Son’s Construction Company
Secretary of Labor v. W.G. Yates & Son’s Construction Company (FMSHRC SE 2023-0094): Hot-work fire citation affirmed before Commission review
W.G. Yates was cutting steel in a phosphate mine building when hot slag entered an uncovered drain and ignited rubber lining inside a discharge pipe. The fire burned for about 17 minutes, produced thick black smoke, and resisted six fire extinguishers before the mine's emergency team put it out…
Secretary of Labor v. The National Lime and Stone Company
Secretary of Labor v. The National Lime and Stone Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2024-0064): One portable-crusher citation affirmed and two vacated
National Lime operates a portable crusher that moves among several of its Ohio mines and carries its own MSHA Mine ID. MSHA cited the company for lacking a crusher-specific hazard-communication program, training plan, and workplace-examination record. The Judge held that National's existing company…
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0403): Unsupported S&S removal rejected
Greenbrier and the Secretary proposed settling six citations, including removal of the significant-and-substantial designation from a citation alleging an inoperable emergency stop switch on a feeder breaker. That change would also have reduced the proposed penalty from $1,593 to $302. The…
Secretary of Labor v. County Line Stone Co., Inc., Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC, and Ramaco Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. County Line Stone Co., Inc., Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC, and Ramaco Resources, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0260): Settlement vacaturs remained reviewable
These three consolidated cases involved settlements that proposed vacating contested citations while resolving other citations in the same agreements. The Secretary claimed unreviewable discretion to vacate the citations and declined to assure the ALJ that the proposed vacaturs were independent of…
Secretary of Labor v. Heidelberg Materials Northeast, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Heidelberg Materials Northeast, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2024-0057): Missing mine-map airflows violated ventilation rule
Heidelberg's annual ventilation map showed airflow for two mine openings but omitted the direction and quantity for two other openings carrying large ambient airflows. The judge rejected Heidelberg's argument that only mechanically generated flows in primary or secondary entries were principal air…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0287): Fire, ventilation, monitoring, cable, and ground-control citations split
The case addressed citations arising from a loader fire, smoke crossing an evacuation route, an atmospheric monitoring outage, a failed high-voltage cable splice, and loose ground above a traveled area at Morton Salt's underground mine. The judge affirmed S&S citations for allowing the known…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company and Matthew Zimmer, Roger Peterson employed by Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company, et al. (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0224): Flagrant walkway penalty increased on remand
An earlier judge found that Northshore failed to maintain elevated walkways, acted with reckless disregard and unwarrantable failure, and assessed a $60,000 penalty after rejecting MSHA's flagrant designation. The Commission affirmed, but the Eighth Circuit held that the violation was flagrant and…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc. (FMSHRC VA 2023-0021): Contractor held to mine block-light safeguard
A GMS miner drove a manbus past a red block light and caused a head-on underground rail collision that seriously injured miners. GMS argued that the mine-specific safeguard could not be enforced against it because MSHA had issued written notice to the production operator, not separately to GMS, and…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0160): Unsupported S&S removal rejected
Knight Hawk and the Secretary proposed settling three citations by removing the significant-and-substantial designation from two and reducing total penalties from $7,960 to $4,590. The ALJ accepted the explanation for one removal but found inadequate support for removing S&S from a roof-control…
Secretary of Labor v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources, LLC and Secretary of Labor v. River City Stone-DIV/Mathy Construction Co. and Secretary of Labor v. Holcim (US) Inc. and Secretary of Labor v. Greenbrier Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources, LLC and consolidated cases (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0145): Settlement citation vacaturs required Commission review
These five cases involved proposed settlements or dismissals in which the Secretary would vacate citations while operators accepted or withdrew contests to other citations and waived potential attorney-fee claims. The ALJ required either assurance that the vacaturs were independent of the other…
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt, Inc. & Quinn Norwood
Secretary of Labor v. Morton Salt and Quinn Norwood (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0135): Blasting violation and individual liability affirmed
Morton Salt initiated three explosive rounds at its underground Weeks Island salt mine while four contractors remained underground and their tags still showed them in the mine. The judge affirmed a violation of 30 C.F.R. § 57.22601(a), finding that the incident was significant and substantial…
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Vulcan Construction Materials (FMSHRC SE 2023-0117): Unguarded ladderway citation affirmed
MSHA cited Vulcan Construction Materials because the opening at the top of a fixed ladder to an elevated conveyor walkway lacked a chain, gate, railing, or warning signal. Vulcan argued that the opening was not near a travelway and that miners did not work near it. The judge found that miners used…
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co. (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0216): Guarding and berm citations affirmed with reductions
MSHA cited Billy Cooper Stone for operating a stone splitter without required guards and for a missing berm along a narrow mine road with an eight-foot drop-off. The judge found evidence that the splitter had been used unguarded and held that the company remained responsible for road safety where…
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co., Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Billy Cooper Stone Co. (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0216): Original guarding and berm decision later amended
MSHA cited Billy Cooper Stone for an unguarded stone splitter and a missing berm along a narrow road with an eight-foot drop-off. The judge affirmed both citations but reduced negligence to low for each and changed the berm citation to unlikely injury and non-S&S. He assessed $350 for the guarding…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0070): Damaged cutting-bit citation affirmed
A face ignition occurred while a continuous miner operated at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine, which was liberating more than 11 million cubic feet of methane per day. Investigators found two damaged cutting bits about two feet apart on the side of the cutting head where witnesses saw the ignition. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0555): Eleven-citation settlement approved
The judge had previously denied a proposed settlement because the Secretary did not provide two section 104(b) withdrawal orders associated with citations in the docket. After the Commission's Perry County Resources decision held that a judge did not need the related withdrawal order when the…
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. Nufac Mining Company, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Nufac Mining Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2023-0149): Five-citation settlement approved with installment plan
The parties settled five citations issued to Nufac Mining's No. 57 Mine. Three penalties were reduced by roughly half, while two remained unchanged, lowering the table total from $19,574 to $11,684. The judge noted substantial older unpaid penalties and prior noncompliance with an installment plan…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0011): Escapeway obstruction citation affirmed
Six pressurized hoses from a pump car protruded into the secondary escapeway at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine. The judge found that the hoses narrowed and obstructed the path used with the escapeway lifeline and could impede miners, including a disabled miner on a stretcher, during an emergency…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0013): Original release of walkaround pay decision
This is the original release of the Commission's decision affirming Tara Otten's walkaround-pay claim against Continental Cement. Otten received her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would otherwise have earned while accompanying MSHA inspectors. The Commission…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0013): Walkaround representative was entitled to lost upgrade pay
Tara Otten served as a miners' representative during MSHA inspections and was paid her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would otherwise have earned. Continental Cement relied on its collective bargaining agreement, which tied upgrade pay to actually performing…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0009): Booster-pump guarding citation affirmed
A guard over the Bailey Mine's 960 Booster Pump left a gap near a jagged, keyed shaft approximately 20 inches in diameter that rotated 300 to 900 times per minute. A contract greaser had to climb onto the pump frame and work about five inches from the shaft amid grease and spraying water. Consol…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0516): Fourteen-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved fourteen citations at Appalachian Resource's Grapevine South Surface Mine and reduced penalties from $18,550 to $11,000. Three associated section 104(b) withdrawal orders were vacated, three citations were changed from low to no negligence, and one citation was changed from…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0428): Blasting, training, and equipment settlement approved
This settlement resolved sixteen citations that had been moved from the related WEVA 2022-0301 docket. One equipment citation remained at $4,624 after ten defects were found on a haul truck and eight remained uncorrected thirteen days later, prompting a section 104(b) order. Three other citations…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0301): Equipment and ground-control settlement approved
The settlement resolved seventeen citations at Appalachian Resource West Virginia’s Grapevine South Surface Mine after sixteen other citations were moved to a separate docket. Seven equipment citations had led to section 104(b) failure-to-abate orders involving defects such as oil leaks, damaged…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0428): Failure-to-abate order disclosure certified
This reallocated docket included a haul-truck citation under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1606(c) for ten safety defects. The inspector granted additional time for repairs, but the record then showed that a section 104(b) failure-to-abate order had been issued. The Secretary sought settlement approval at the…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0301): Failure-to-abate disclosure question certified
The Secretary sought approval of a settlement covering numerous mobile-equipment citations but refused the Judge’s repeated requests for seven associated section 104(b) failure-to-abate orders. Counsel for Appalachian Resource West Virginia confirmed the orders and supplied information that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0118): Slurry citation reduced to non-S&S
CONSOL's Bailey Mine preparation plant had wet coal slurry and fine magnetite covering a walkway near a step, with a leaking pipe overhead and a missing light. CONSOL conceded that the accumulation violated the travelway standard. Judge Sullivan found that the material could obscure the step, but…
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0024): Secretary ordered to disclose missing abatement order
Perry County Resources and the Secretary proposed resolving four citations with a total penalty reduction from $1,470 to $1,204. The record showed that MSHA had issued a section 104(b) failure-to-abate order connected to an admitted roof-support citation, but the order and related documents were…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0084): Machine, electrical, and mapping citations affirmed
MSHA cited Consol's underground Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield, cracked light globes on a continuous miner, and failure to plot a drill hole that penetrated the coalbed. Judge Michael Young found that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0084): Three citations affirmed in original ruling
MSHA cited Consol's underground Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield, cracked light globes on a continuous miner, and failure to plot a drill hole that penetrated the coalbed. Judge Michael Young found that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes…
Secretary of Labor v. IMI Aggregates, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. IMI Aggregates, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0122): Berm and guarding citations affirmed
MSHA cited IMI Aggregates at its Indiana sand and gravel mine for a 125-foot section of roadway without an adequate berm and for an unguarded conveyor tail pulley and drive chain. Judge John Sullivan found that frequent two-way traffic near the roadway edge made overtravel and a rollover reasonably…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair (FMSHRC WEVA 2021-0431): Final-order dates controlled violation-history calculation
GMS Mine Repair accepted five citations and their gravity and negligence findings but disputed how MSHA calculated the contractor's violation history for penalty purposes. MSHA counted citations and orders that became final during the preceding 15 months, even if they had been issued earlier, while…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0019): Runaway rail cars showed safeguard violations
Six fully loaded supply cars separated from a brakeman car at Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Bailey Mine and traveled about 1,600 feet down a slope before crashing at the bottom. Two safeguards issued after a similar 2011 accident required properly maintained safety chains and couplers, along…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0090): Brake alarm violation affirmed, wiper citations vacated
Cactus Canyon Quarries operates a small Texas mine that produces marble for the terrazzo industry. Judge David P. Simonton found that a dump truck's nonfunctioning low brake-pressure alarm violated the rule requiring every braking-system component to remain functional, even though the truck's…
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. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0047): Unguarded belt drive citation affirmed as S&S
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Harvey Mine, an underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. MSHA cited the company after an inspector found that a moving belt drive roller beside a narrow wooden walkway had no guard in front of it. Judge Alan G. Paez found that miners could use the walkway…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0080): Damaged power cable violation affirmed as S&S
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company after an inspector found a damaged 480-volt power cable supplying a rib bolter at the Enlow Fork Mine. Judge John Kent Lewis found that damage to the outer jacket and inner insulation exposed bare conductor wires in a main travelway and violated the…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0153): Missed electrical grounding tests draw $530 penalty
Northshore Mining Company processes taconite into iron pellets at its Minnesota mine site. MSHA cited Northshore because it had not performed required annual continuity and resistance tests on the grounding systems for six conveyors, two surface water pumps, and two counterweight hoists. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0046): Shield-pin and mine-map citations modified
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Enlow Fork underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. The company conceded that four longwall shields were missing keeper pins, but Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that the Secretary did not prove the missing pins were reasonably likely to let…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0013): Walkaround representative awarded lost upgrade pay
Tara Otten was a laborer and miners' representative at Continental Cement's Hannibal Underground Mine. While she accompanied MSHA inspectors, the company paid her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would have received under its seniority practices if she had…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0074): Breaker label and flooded bleeder citations upheld
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Enlow Fork underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. MSHA cited the mine because two adjacent high-voltage circuit breakers carried the same equipment label, creating a risk that a miner could deenergize the wrong continuous miner before working on…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0008): Cable violation upheld but S&S designation vacated
MSHA cited CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company after an inspector found cuts in an energized feeder cable at the Enlow Fork Mine. The Commission affirmed the judge's finding that the cable was not adequately insulated and fully protected, and it upheld moderate negligence. It vacated the significant…
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.