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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Secretary of Labor v. P.W. Gillibrand of Texas, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. P.W. Gillibrand of Texas, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0104): Missing fire-warning sign violation affirmed
P.W. Gillibrand of Texas operates the Voca West sand plant in Texas. MSHA cited the mine because its grease station lacked a visible sign prohibiting smoking and open flames. Judge David P. Simonton found a fire hazard because an open drip barrel contained combustible paper and rags beside grease…
Secretary of Labor v. Solvay Chemicals, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Solvay Chemicals, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2020-0278 M): Delayed injury report affirmed, negligence reduced
Solvay Chemicals operates an underground trona mine in Wyoming. A miner was struck by a roof fall while repairing a bore miner, suffered visible head injuries, and was later diagnosed with a shattered orbital socket. MSHA cited Solvay under 30 C.F.R. § 50.10(b) because management did not notify the…
Secretary of Labor obo Barbara E. Cassidy v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Barbara E. Cassidy v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0101): Safety-report retaliation proven
Barbara Cassidy, a section supervisor at Consol's Enlow Fork Mine, raised concerns about shortages of personnel rides, emergency transportation, and roof-bolting practices. Management counseled her after two safety emails and later imposed an unpaid suspension following a loud disagreement with her…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0099): Berm penalty reduced to $40,000
Solar Sources Mining violated the berm standard at a surface coal mine after a haul truck went over a dumpsite edge and the driver was injured while escaping. The citation's S&S, unwarrantable-failure, high-negligence, and serious-gravity findings were no longer disputed; the appeal concerned the…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2020-0213): Twenty-one-citation settlement approved
Warrior Met Coal Mining and the Secretary proposed resolving two penalty cases by reducing total penalties from $61,707 to $33,035. Nine citations remained unchanged, while twelve were modified on injury likelihood, number of persons affected, injury severity, or negligence. Judge Thomas P…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC and Secretary of Labor v. Michael Butler, employed by Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC and Michael Butler (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0361): Methane orders affirmed and examination order modified
A contractor's drill breached old mine workings at Peabody Midwest Mining's Francisco Mine and released methane that repeatedly registered above five percent. Mine manager Michael Butler allowed six miners to continue pulling drill rods with the drill energized for at least 30 minutes despite the…
Secretary of Labor v. The Creator's Stone
Secretary of Labor v. The Creator's Stone (FMSHRC CENT 2020-0067): Small stone quarry held subject to Mine Act
The Creator's Stone removed layered stone from a small Arkansas site, broke and sorted pieces, stacked them on pallets, and sold the stone. The owner argued that the operation was a borrow pit rather than a mine and therefore did not need to notify MSHA or provide new-miner training. Judge William…
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 v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0094): Lifeline obstruction citation affirmed
At Consol's Harvey Mine, nine hydraulic hoses extended beneath a lifeline in an alternate escapeway. Judge John Kent Lewis found that the placement could force miners to identify and maneuver around a trip hazard during a smoke-filled emergency, so the lifeline was not located for effective escape…
Secretary of Labor v. Bluff City Minerals, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Bluff City Minerals, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0389): Wet insulating-mat citation affirmed
At Bluff City's underground limestone mine, water was spraying onto the insulating mat for a 480-volt pump switch that had only one recognized grounding system. The company argued that the word “dry” in the electrical standard applied only to wooden platforms, not insulating mats. Judge Jacqueline…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2019-0075, SE 2019-0146): Three serious violations affirmed
Peabody operated the underground Shoal Creek Mine, where MSHA cited combustible accumulations in two belt areas and an alternate escapeway obstructed by holes, muck, and water. Judge Jacqueline Bulluck found that the belt conditions created fire and smoke hazards and that the escapeway could not…
Secretary of Labor v. Nugent Sand Company
Secretary of Labor v. Nugent Sand Company (FMSHRC KENT 2020-0039): Mine operator liable for utility equipment
Nugent Sand operated a Kentucky sand and gravel plant where one lightning arrestor protecting mine powerlines was inoperable. The arrestor and related high-voltage equipment belonged to Owen Electric Cooperative, which did not allow Nugent Sand to inspect or repair them. Judge Thomas McCarthy held…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0450): Refuge-chamber penalty reduced on remand
Peabody Midwest violated its emergency response plan by placing one refuge chamber in the direct line of sight of the working face. On review of an earlier ALJ ruling, the Commission removed the significant-and-substantial designation because more than 15 miners were present only during shift…
Secretary of Labor v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2013-0211): Advance-notice penalty assessed
During an MSHA complaint inspection, an underground miner asked a dispatcher whether “company” was outside, and the dispatcher confirmed that inspectors were present. The Commission had already held on review that this exchange violated the Mine Act's ban on advance notice and remanded only for a…
Secretary of Labor v. Bragg Crane Service
Secretary of Labor v. Bragg Crane Service (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0303): Suspended-load penalty reduced to $200
Bragg Crane Service used a crane to move a 40,000-pound hopper at Spanish Springs Pit #6. Judge David Simonton found that a Bragg employee briefly entered the established 10-foot fall zone around the suspended load, violating the rule that persons stay clear of suspended loads, but the evidence did…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0099): Berm penalty vacated and remanded
Solar Sources Mining was cited after a haul truck went through a deficient berm at a surface mine and overturned 47 feet below, while the driver escaped with serious foot and ankle injuries. The judge affirmed the berm violation as S&S, high negligence, and an unwarrantable failure, then assessed…
Secretary of Labor v. Superior Silica Sands, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Superior Silica Sands, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2019-0133): Railcar violations assessed at $44,786
A newly hired electrician with no railcar experience was fatally injured after two uncoupled railcars began rolling and he attempted to set a handbrake on a moving car. Judge Margaret Miller found that Superior Silica Sands had not adequately trained him on railcar hazards, braking, communication…
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc., and its successors and Secretary of Labor v. Reginald S. Hoover, employed by Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc. and Reginald S. Hoover (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0277): Blasting violations and agent liability affirmed
A blast detonated prematurely at Hoover Excavating's surface stone mine while eight miners remained in the pit area, and three miners were seriously injured by flyrock and debris. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that mine owner Reginald Hoover ignored the initiating device's warning not to connect…
Secretary of Labor v. Hopkins Hill Sand & Stone, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Hopkins Hill Sand & Stone, LLC (FMSHRC YORK 2019-0025): Late death notification citation affirmed
Hopkins Hill's general manager suffered a fatal heart attack from natural causes while at the company's open-pit crushed stone mine. Mine management knew of the death by 11:24 a.m. but did not notify MSHA until 12:56 p.m., one hour and 17 minutes after the 15-minute reporting deadline. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2018-0169): Eleven safety citations affirmed with reduced penalties
MSHA issued 11 citations at Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Harvey Mine involving unsupported-roof warnings, damaged electrical and hoisting cables, equipment certification and mapping records, training documentation, noise exposure, and ventilation controls. Judge William B. Moran affirmed…
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Co., successor to Consolidation Coal Co.
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0074): Accumulation cases settled for $40,500
The Secretary cited Monongalia County Coal for three combustible-material accumulation violations and two inadequate belt-examination violations across three dockets. The accumulation citations had also been identified as possible predicates for a repeated flagrant theory in related litigation. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0073): Three escapeway citations vacated
After Peabody Midwest stopped production on the old 2B panel, it moved the production equipment outby the former loading point, changed the ventilation, and began mining elsewhere. MSHA cited the company because the old panel no longer had tracking and communication, a lifeline, or working…
Secretary of Labor v. Yahara Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Yahara Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0025): Dump-site berm citation settled for $286
MSHA cited Yahara Materials for failing to provide a berm at a dump site and proposed a $2,361 penalty. In settlement, the operator asserted that a spotter and berms were present, while the Secretary declined to provide requested inspection photographs. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy approved the…
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.