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. Knox Creek Coal Corporation
Four violations held S&S and penalties remanded
MSHA cited Knox Creek Coal Corporation at its methane-prone Tiller No. 1 underground coal mine for three impermissible electrical enclosures, a damaged trailing cable, and extensive combustible accumulations on a conveyor belt. The judge found all five violations were not significant and…
Zeigler Coal Company
Power-connection violation affirmed, S&S finding remanded
MSHA cited Zeigler Coal after inspectors found non-permissible golf-cart power connection points in return air outby the last open crosscut at an underground coal mine. The Commission agreed that, for purposes of 30 C.F.R. § 75.507, air that ventilated any working face could be treated as return…
Jim Walter Resources, Inc.
Nonpermissible distribution box violation affirmed
MSHA found a nonpermissible electrical distribution box in a crosscut at Jim Walter Resources' No. 5 underground coal mine. The Commission held that the crosscut was the last open crosscut between the relevant entries, so the equipment violated the Mine Act standard requiring permissible equipment…
Peabody Coal Company
Cab and canopy violation affirmed
MSHA cited Peabody Coal Company after inspectors observed mobile bridge carriers operating without protective cabs or canopies at the Camp No. 11 Mine. The Commission held that an MBC is self-propelled electric face equipment when it is taken into the last open crosscut, and that the first MBCs in…
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.