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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Jones Brothers, Inc. v Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Jones Brothers, Inc.
Jones Brothers, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2016-0218 RM): Road-project excavation held to be a mine
Jones Brothers excavated limestone for a Tennessee highway repair project by drilling, blasting, breaking oversized rock, separating dirt, and selecting rock that met state size and drainage specifications. The company argued that the site was a borrow pit outside MSHA jurisdiction. After a new…
Secretary of Labor obo Roger Cook v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Roger Cook v. Rockwell Mining, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2021-0203): Fire boss temporarily reinstated
Roger Cook, a fire boss at Rockwell Mining's Eagle #3 Mine, locked and tagged out a pump cable after finding that its ground-monitor protection had been bypassed. He then discussed the condition with an MSHA inspector in front of mine management. Rockwell suspended Cook the next day and terminated…
Jones Brothers, Inc. v Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Jones Brothers, Inc.
Jones Brothers, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2016-0218 RM): Lay testimony allowed, expert testimony excluded
The Secretary asked the judge to limit testimony from six Jones Brothers witnesses before a hearing on Mine Act jurisdiction and the underlying violations. Judge Priscilla Rae allowed all six to testify as fact witnesses but barred Steve Wright from offering expert testimony because his proposed…
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0015 DM): Incentive-payment enforcement denied
The Secretary asked the Judge to enforce James McGaughran's economic-reinstatement order by requiring Lehigh Cement to pay another $12,000 under its annual incentive plan. The request was filed in the discrimination merits docket rather than the separate temporary-reinstatement docket. The…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc. (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0126): Safeguard citation vacated
A hook clevis broke while GMS Mine Repair employees were using a mule to move a longwall shield at Bailey Mine, sending the hook 33 feet through the air and striking a miner. MSHA cited GMS under a 2006 safeguard that had been issued in writing to mine owner Consol after a different chain failure…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Buchanan Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Buchanan Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC VA 2012-0042): Roof-plan violation remained non-S&S on remand
Consol Buchanan took a crosscut about two to three-and-a-half feet deeper than its roof control plan allowed in adverse roof conditions. The violation itself had already been affirmed, but a federal appeals court remanded the S&S question and directed the judge not to rely on redundant safety…
Secretary of Labor v. Pennsy Supply, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Pennsy Supply, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2018-0004): Five alleged lead-safety violations vacated
MSHA issued Pennsy Supply five citations after a former employee alleged lead exposure while using a torch to remove bolts and washers from a sand screw. The citations alleged failures to report an occupational illness, maintain a safety data sheet, train miners, provide special protective…
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.