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. J.R. Vinagro Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. J.R. Vinagro Corporation (FMSHRC YORK 2023-0064): New tracking controls supported reopening
A proposed assessment for one of nine citations issued during a fatality investigation was placed with other investigation papers instead of being sent to J.R. Vinagro's new safety director. The director learned in late February that this and two other assessment forms were delinquent. Vinagro…
Secretary of Labor v. Omya, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Omya, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0119): Mistaken payment did not erase intent to contest
Omya had filed notices contesting the underlying citations before MSHA issued the proposed assessment. A shipping manager later received a combined invoice and mistakenly paid the penalties while believing the earlier notices had preserved the company's contest rights. The Secretary did not oppose…
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica
Secretary of Labor v. U.S. Silica (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0157): Staff-routing error supported reopening
U.S. Silica failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days after delivery. The company said operations and staffing changes led a new administrative assistant to send the assessment to an interim manager at another office instead of following the proper process. U.S. Silica…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0207): Receptionist error supported reopening
Rockwell Mining failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days. A new office manager receptionist received the assessment but did not provide it to the corporate safety director for more than two months. Rockwell said its normal procedure required assessments to be scanned and sent…
Secretary of Labor v. Miller Contracting Services, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Miller Contracting Services, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0173): Lost contest supported reopening
Miller Contracting Services said it mailed a penalty contest packet, but MSHA did not receive it. An internal miscommunication caused the company to send the packet without certified-mail tracking, and Miller learned of the problem only after receiving a delinquency notice. The company then updated…
Secretary of Labor v. Specialty Vermiculite, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Specialty Vermiculite, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2022-0044): Mine shutdown disruption supported reopening
Specialty Vermiculite failed to contest a proposed penalty assessment within 30 days. The company said its Enoree Operations mine had ceased operations, most employees had been laid off, and COVID illnesses added to confusion among the remaining staff. The employee responsible for contests worked…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0029): Management transition supported reopening
Iron Cumberland failed to contest two proposed penalty assessments within 30 days. The mine changed ownership and management near the end of 2021, including hiring a new safety director, and the transition altered internal processing procedures. Iron Cumberland learned of the missed assessments…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0076): Filing errors justified reopening a default
Warrior Met Coal Mining LLC attempted to answer the Secretary's penalty petition, but the Commission's electronic filing system rejected the submission because the caption contained a typographical error. The company believed the answer had been accepted and also said it did not receive the later…
Secretary of Labor v. The Quikrete Companies
Secretary of Labor v. The Quikrete Companies (FMSHRC YORK 2021-0034): Misplaced assessment reopened after COVID-19 outbreak
A proposed penalty assessment became final after Quikrete did not file a contest within 30 days. Quikrete explained that a COVID-19 outbreak left its office and plant understaffed and the assessment was inadvertently misplaced. After realizing it lacked the document, the company contacted MSHA and…
Secretary of Labor v. Lo Down Energy, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Lo Down Energy, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2021-0180): Four misplaced assessments reopened
Four proposed penalty assessments became final after Lo Down Energy did not contest them within 30 days. The operator had rerouted MSHA assessments to its accounting office during the COVID-19 pandemic, but employees worked there only intermittently and the documents were misplaced. Lo Down learned…
Secretary of Labor v. Cooper Stone, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Cooper Stone, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0131): Unreceived penalty assessment reopened
A proposed penalty assessment became final after Cooper Stone did not contest it within 30 days. The operator said it had ongoing mail-delivery problems, did not receive the assessment, and first learned about it from a later statement listing the uncontested violations. The Secretary did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Champlain Stone, Ltd.
Secretary of Labor v. Champlain Stone, Ltd. (FMSHRC YORK 2021-0048): Misaddressed contest excused
Champlain Stone timely prepared a contest of proposed penalties but mailed it to MSHA's St. Louis payment office with payment for uncontested violations. The company discovered the mistake after receiving a delinquency notice and then sought reopening. The Secretary did not oppose relief but urged…
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.