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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Excel Mining, LLC
Respirable-dust citations vacated
MSHA cited Excel Mining after averaging respirable-dust samples from several occupations during single shifts at a mechanized mining unit. The Commission held that the Secretary's 1971 Finding barred single-shift sampling for enforcement because it found that such measurement would not accurately…
Excel Mining LLC
Amicus participation granted
The International Chemical Workers Union Council asked to intervene in Excel Mining's Commission review of a silica-sampling dispute, or alternatively to participate as an amicus curiae. The Commission denied intervention because the union had not shown a direct enough interest or why amicus…
ASARCO, Inc.
Silica-dust citation dismissal vacated and remanded
MSHA cited ASARCO at its underground Young Mine, a zinc mine in Tennessee, after a skip tender was exposed to an average of 2.3 milligrams of respirable silica-bearing dust per cubic meter of air. The administrative law judge dismissed the citation based on the Commission's earlier decision…
Keystone Coal Mining Corporation
Spot-inspection citations vacated
MSHA cited Keystone Coal Mining Corporation for respirable-dust concentrations based on single-shift samples from a spot-inspection program. The Commission held that the program attempted to rescind an earlier finding that single-shift sampling did not accurately represent miners' exposure, and…
Keystone Coal Mining Corp.
Single-shift dust citations vacated for lack of rulemaking
MSHA cited Keystone Coal Mining Corp. after single-shift respirable-dust samples exceeded 2.0 milligrams per cubic meter at its Emilie No. 1 and Margaret No. 11 mines. The citations were issued under MSHA's 1991 spot-inspection program, which directed inspectors to cite operators based on a single…
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.