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. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc. (FMSHRC VA 2023-0021): Mine safeguard enforced against contractor
GMS, an independent contractor at Buchanan Mine No. 1, admitted that one of its miners drove past a red block light and caused a head-on rail collision that seriously injured multiple miners. It argued that the mine-specific safeguard could not be enforced against it because MSHA had issued the…
Secretary of Labor v. Bradley T. Wiley, et al. and Vulcan Materials Company v. Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Labor v. Bradley T. Wiley, et al. (FMSHRC SE 2023-0013): MSHA jurisdiction attached before quarry production began
Vulcan was preparing a Georgia property for a future stone quarry when a Terra Excavating employee died in a compactor rollover before extraction or processing had begun. Vulcan, Terra, and contractor Bradley Wiley argued that MSHA lacked jurisdiction because the site was still in development. The…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0047): Unguarded belt drive citation affirmed as S&S
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Harvey Mine, an underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. MSHA cited the company after an inspector found that a moving belt drive roller beside a narrow wooden walkway had no guard in front of it. Judge Alan G. Paez found that miners could use the walkway…
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…
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.