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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David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al v. Secretary of Labor
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services et al. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0159): Expedition denied and contests consolidated
David A. Rose Farm & Ag Services and Garcia Mining contested one miner-training order and six citations issued during work they described as river widening and dredging outside MSHA jurisdiction. They requested an expedited hearing based on financial costs, disruption, continuing inspections, and…
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC SE 2023-0028): Eighteen dockets dismissed
The Acting Secretary vacated five contest citations and thirteen related penalty proceedings alleging that Warrior Met denied miners' representatives access to its No. 4 and No. 7 mines during a strike. Warrior Met did not oppose dismissal but asked the Judge first to consolidate those eighteen…
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. 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. RJ Valente Gravel
Secretary of Labor v. RJ Valente Gravel (FMSHRC YORK 2018-0019): Duplicate dockets consolidated and reopened
RJ Valente Gravel asked the Commission to reopen default orders in four penalty dockets, and the Secretary did not oppose the motion. Two dockets covered one assessment and two covered another, so the Commission treated each pair as duplicates. It consolidated all four dockets, reopened the…
Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2019-0622): Missed internal routing supported reopening
KC Transport failed to contest two proposed penalty assessments because an administrative assistant believed she had sent them to company counsel but had not done so. The operator learned that the assessments were delinquent from counsel and described improvements to its internal processing system…
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Dacotah, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. GCC Dacotah, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2020-0155-M): Internal procedure error supported reopening
GCC Dacotah failed to contest two proposed penalty assessments because of an improper understanding and implementation of its internal procedure. The company paid the uncontested portions before the respective contest deadlines. The Secretary did not oppose reopening but urged the operator to…
Secretary of Labor v. Industrial Process Equipment Constructors
Secretary of Labor v. Industrial Process Equipment Constructors (FMSHRC YORK 2018-0084): Family illness supported reopening two defaults
Industrial Process Equipment Constructors answered two show-cause orders late because the responsible employee mistakenly believed she had 30 days to respond. During that period, she was caring for several ill family members, her mother died, and the company had lost the secretary who normally…
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Rockwell Mining, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2020-0150): Vacation backlog supported reopening with warning
Two proposed assessments arrived while Rockwell Mining's safety manager was on vacation. After returning to a backlog, he selected citations for contest and sent the forms to the corporate safety director, who mailed them on the day the assessments became final. MSHA received the forms six days…
Secretary of Labor v. Pinto Valley Mining Corp.
Secretary of Labor v. Pinto Valley Mining Corp. (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0516): Documented mailing claims supported reopening
Pinto Valley said it timely mailed contest forms for two assessments by certified mail and made partial payments for the uncontested penalties. The company did not have the return receipts, but submitted completed forms, payment records, and affidavits describing its reliable contest procedure. It…
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.