Secretary of Labor v. Ironside Stone Works, Inc.

Plain-English summary

MSHA delivered Ironside Stone Works' assessment to the mine site rather than the company office. The mine operator took the assessment home while on compassionate leave, and the document did not reach the office until several weeks later. Ironside filed its contest in mid-March, about two weeks after the assessment became final. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the operator to improve its process. The Commission found inadvertence and excusable neglect, reopened the assessment, and remanded the matter.

Decision snapshot

• Cited authority: 30 U.S.C. § 815(a)
• Outcome: The final assessment was reopened and remanded for further proceedings.
• Key point: An unusual mine-site delivery and compassionate-leave delay supported reopening, but the operator still needed a reliable assessment-routing process.

Full text (FMSHRC public release)

FEDERAL
MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1331
PENNSYLVANIA AVE., N.W., SUITE 520N

WASHINGTON,
DC 20004-1710

SECRETARY
OF LABOR,

MINE
SAFETY AND HEALTH    

ADMINISTRATION
(MSHA)         

v.

IRONSIDE
STONE WORKS INC.

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

Docket
No. WEST 2022-0216

A.C.
No. 24-02209-545701

BEFORE:  Jordan, Chair;
Althen, Rajkovich, and Baker, Commissioners

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

This
matter arises under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. §
801 et seq. (2018) (“Mine Act”). On April 19, 2022, the Commission received
from Ironside Stone Works, Inc. (“Ironside”) a motion seeking to reopen a
penalty assessment that had become a final order of the Commission pursuant to
section 105(a) of the Mine Act, 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).

Under
section 105(a) of the Mine Act, an operator who wishes to contest a proposed
penalty must notify the Secretary of Labor no later than 30 days after
receiving the proposed penalty assessment. If the operator fails to notify the
Secretary, the proposed penalty assessment is deemed a final order of the
Commission. 30 U.S.C. § 815(a).

We
have held, however, that in appropriate circumstances, we possess jurisdiction to reopen uncontested
assessments that have become final Commission orders under section 105(a). Jim
Walter Res., Inc., 15 FMSHRC 782, 786-89 (May 1993) (“ JWR ”). In
evaluating requests to reopen final orders, the Commission has found guidance
in Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, under which the
Commission may relieve a party from a final order of the Commission on the
basis of mistake, inadvertence, excusable neglect, or other reason justifying
relief. See 29 C.F.R. § 2700.1(b) (“the Commission and its Judges shall
be guided so far as practicable by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure”); JWR ,
15 FMSHRC at 787. We have also observed that default is a harsh remedy and
that, if the defaulting party can make a showing of good cause for a failure to timely respond, the case may be
reopened and appropriate proceedings on the merits permitted. See Coal Prep.
Servs., Inc., 17 FMSHRC 1529, 1530 (Sept. 1995).

Records
of the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) indicate
that the proposed assessment was delivered on January 31, 2022, and became a
final order of the Commission on March 2, 2022. Ironside asserts that the
assessment was delivered to the operator’s mine site rather than the office,
and was subsequently taken home by the mine operator while he was on
compassionate leave. As a result, the assessment did not reach the office until
February 21, 2022. The operator filed the contest paperwork in mid-March, approximately
two weeks after the order became final. The Secretary does not oppose the
request to reopen, but urges the operator to take steps to ensure that future
penalty contests are timely filed.

Having
reviewed Ironside’s request and the Secretary’s
response, we find that the delay in filing the penalty contest was the
result of inadvertence and excusable neglect. In
the interest of justice, we hereby reopen this matter and remand it to the
Chief Administrative Law Judge for further proceedings pursuant to the Mine Act
and the Commission’s Procedural Rules, 29 C.F.R. Part 2700. Accordingly,
consistent with Rule 28, the Secretary shall file a petition for
assessment of penalty within 45 days of the date of this order. See 29
C.F.R. § 2700.28.

/s/ Mary Lu Jordan

Mary
Lu Jordan, Chair

/s/ William I. Althen

William I. Althen, Commissioner

/s/ Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr.

Marco M. Rajkovich, Jr., Commissioner

/s/ Timothy J. Baker

Timothy J. Baker, Commissioner

Distribution:

Adam
Korpi, President

Ironside
Stone Works, Inc.

4303
Frontage Dr.

Helena
MT 59602

[email protected]

Emily
Toler-Scott, Esq.

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

201
12th St. South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202-5450

[email protected]

April
Nelson, Esq.

Associate
Solicitor

Office
of the Solicitor

U.S.
Department of Labor

Division
of Mine Safety and Health

201
12th Street South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202

[email protected]

Chief
Administrative Law Judge Glynn Voisin

Federal
Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

1331
Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Suite 520N

Washington,
DC 20004-1710

[email protected]

Melanie
Garris

Office
of Civil Penalty Compliance

Mine
Safety and Health Administration

U.S.
Department of Labor

201
12th St. South, Suite 401

Arlington,
VA 22202-5450

[email protected]