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. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0065, SE 2023-0102): Slope-belt accumulation orders upheld and modified
MSHA found extensive combustible coal accumulations along Peabody Southeast Mining's slope belt and tail area, including material touching the moving belt and rollers. Damaged and locked rollers supplied potential ignition sources. The mine's examination records had noted accumulations for several…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2023-0020): Rib, examination, and coal-accumulation orders upheld
Three litigated orders at Peabody's Shoal Creek Mine concerned extensive loose ribs along a conveyor walkway, an inadequate preshift examination that failed to identify those conditions, and combustible coal accumulations around the Mother Belt. The Judge found five loose-rib sections extending…
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Iron Cumberland, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2022-0084): Combustible-accumulation settlement approved
The settlement covered two specially assessed section 104(d)(2) orders for extensive combustible-material accumulations along the Cumberland Mine’s 6 Mains West No. 1 belt. The first order identified ten locations, including material contacting moving rollers and one smoking accumulation; the…
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. The Monongalia County Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0509, WEVA 2015-0632): Unwarrantable-failure settlement approved
The Commission had granted review of findings involving combustible belt-line accumulations and a related preshift-examination violation at Monongalia County Coal's underground mine. The parties settled by reinstating unwarrantable-failure designations on both orders while the Secretary abandoned…
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. The Monongalia County Coal Company, successor to Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0074): Long stay lifted in accumulation cases
Three penalty cases involving alleged combustible-material accumulations had remained stayed while related litigation addressed the meaning of a repeated flagrant violation. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the pending Commission appeal in the related Monongalia case did not require further delay…
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.