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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Rawl Sales & Processing Company
Citation vacated after evenly divided review
Rawl operated an underground coal mine where a belt conveyor carried coal through an area with no miners present during the second shift. MSHA cited the company for not conducting an on-shift examination of the belt haulageway under 30 C.F.R. § 75.362(b). The judge vacated the citation, finding…
Buck Creek Coal Company, Inc.
Preshift violation upheld, S&S finding reversed, penalty remanded
Buck Creek operates an underground coal mine in Sullivan, Indiana. MSHA alleged that three miners entered the mine before the required preshift examination was completed and recorded at the surface. The Commission upheld the violation and the finding of unwarrantable failure, reversed the judge's…
Consolidation Coal Company
Roof order affirmed and related settlement resolved
MSHA pursued three civil penalty proceedings involving hearing-conservation citations and a hazardous roof condition at Consolidation Coal's Blacksville No. 2 and Osage No. 3 Mines. Judge Jerold Feldman affirmed the citation and imminent-danger withdrawal order for a deteriorated tailgate roof…
BethEnergy Mines, Inc., et al.
Violation and individual liability affirmed, S&S finding reversed
BethEnergy miners entered an area where roof-support beams had been installed but not yet strapped, after danger signs had been posted. The Commission affirmed the violation of the mine examination and danger-sign standard, the finding of unwarrantable failure, and individual liability for three…
Consolidation Coal Company
Preshift-examination order modified
MSHA alleged that Consolidation Coal Company failed to conduct and record preshift examinations in a coal-mine tailgate entry where miners were working near water, trip hazards, and unstable roof. Judge Paul Merlin found the failure to conduct a preshift examination was significant and substantial…
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.