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. Consol Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2024-0307): Unassessed withdrawal order reopened
Consol requested an MSHA conference to challenge a section 104(b) withdrawal order and expected to contest it with the later penalty assessment for the underlying citation. MSHA assessed no separate penalty for the order, so it was not included as a contestable item in the petition and became final…
American Tripoli v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. American Tripoli
American Tripoli v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2025-0086): Backpay-enforcement citation and order affirmed
An earlier discrimination decision ordered American Tripoli to pay former miner Robert Baumann back pay and interest. The company did not pay while Commission review was pending, even after the Commission denied its request to stay enforcement. MSHA issued a citation for failing to comply with the…
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. Grimes Rock, Inc.
Grimes Rock, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC WEST 2022-0334): Enforcement citations and withdrawal order affirmed
Grimes Rock did not timely pay $12,533.94 in temporary economic reinstatement that an earlier judge had ordered for miner Alvaro Saldivar. MSHA cited the company, issued a section 104(b) withdrawal order when it failed to abate, and issued another citation when mine operations continued despite…
Secretary of Labor v. American Tripoli
Secretary of Labor v. American Tripoli (FMSHRC CENT 2023-0196): Expedited silica-citation hearing granted
American Tripoli asked for expedited review of three silica-related citations and two withdrawal orders that stopped production at its mill. The citations alleged excessive respirable silica exposure, an inadequate respiratory-protection program, and a failure to conduct necessary dust surveys. The…
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (amended)
Secretary of Labor obo Alvaro Saldivar v. Grimes Rock, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0178): Reinstatement continued through finality and required full pay
Alvaro Saldivar received temporary economic reinstatement after alleging that Grimes Rock fired him for safety complaints, with the company initially paying the difference between his new wages and his former mine wages. After Saldivar was incarcerated and Grimes discovered additional…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0555): Eleven-citation settlement approved
The judge had previously denied a proposed settlement because the Secretary did not provide two section 104(b) withdrawal orders associated with citations in the docket. After the Commission's Perry County Resources decision held that a judge did not need the related withdrawal order when the…
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources, LLC (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0024): Unrelated abatement order was not required for settlement
Perry County Resources and the Secretary proposed settling four citations involving roof support, escapeways, a lifeline, and equipment guarding. A Judge denied approval because the Secretary would not provide a separate failure-to-abate order associated with a citation Perry accepted as written…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0555): Settlement initially denied over missing withdrawal orders
The proposed settlement covered citations involving a CAT loader with nine defects and a CAT truck with nineteen defects, both under a standard requiring safety defects to be corrected before equipment use. Inspectors repeatedly extended abatement deadlines, and section 104(b) withdrawal orders…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0516): Fourteen-citation settlement approved
The settlement resolved fourteen citations at Appalachian Resource's Grapevine South Surface Mine and reduced penalties from $18,550 to $11,000. Three associated section 104(b) withdrawal orders were vacated, three citations were changed from low to no negligence, and one citation was changed from…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0428): Blasting, training, and equipment settlement approved
This settlement resolved sixteen citations that had been moved from the related WEVA 2022-0301 docket. One equipment citation remained at $4,624 after ten defects were found on a haul truck and eight remained uncorrected thirteen days later, prompting a section 104(b) order. Three other citations…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0301): Equipment and ground-control settlement approved
The settlement resolved seventeen citations at Appalachian Resource West Virginia’s Grapevine South Surface Mine after sixteen other citations were moved to a separate docket. Seven equipment citations had led to section 104(b) failure-to-abate orders involving defects such as oil leaks, damaged…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0301): Settlement-document review request was premature
The Secretary moved to approve settlements in two proceedings involving Appalachian Resource West Virginia. The judge certified for immediate review whether the Secretary had to provide related section 104(b) orders when requested. The Commission noted that the judge had not yet granted or denied…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0428): Failure-to-abate order disclosure certified
This reallocated docket included a haul-truck citation under 30 C.F.R. § 77.1606(c) for ten safety defects. The inspector granted additional time for repairs, but the record then showed that a section 104(b) failure-to-abate order had been issued. The Secretary sought settlement approval at the…
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Appalachian Resource West Virginia, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0301): Failure-to-abate disclosure question certified
The Secretary sought approval of a settlement covering numerous mobile-equipment citations but refused the Judge’s repeated requests for seven associated section 104(b) failure-to-abate orders. Counsel for Appalachian Resource West Virginia confirmed the orders and supplied information that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources
Secretary of Labor v. Perry County Resources (FMSHRC KENT 2022-0024): Secretary ordered to disclose missing abatement order
Perry County Resources and the Secretary proposed resolving four citations with a total penalty reduction from $1,470 to $1,204. The record showed that MSHA had issued a section 104(b) failure-to-abate order connected to an admitted roof-support citation, but the order and related documents were…
Secretary of Labor v. IMI Aggregates, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. IMI Aggregates, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0122): Berm and guarding citations affirmed
MSHA cited IMI Aggregates at its Indiana sand and gravel mine for a 125-foot section of roadway without an adequate berm and for an unguarded conveyor tail pulley and drive chain. Judge John Sullivan found that frequent two-way traffic near the roadway edge made overtravel and a rollover reasonably…
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Oak Grove Resources, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2019-0094): Conference-process mistake supported reopening
Oak Grove Resources requested a conference on a section 104(b) order and told the inspector that it intended to challenge the order. The operator believed it did not need to file a contest until the conference process ended and repeatedly sought the result from MSHA. After MSHA told the operator…
Secretary of Labor v. Holcim (US) Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Holcim (US) Inc. (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0022): One order was vacated and the other was timely contested
Holcim sought to reopen contests of two section 104(b) withdrawal orders. The first order had already been contested with its underlying citation and was vacated by the Secretary in an approved settlement, making reopening moot. For the second order, Holcim's reopening motion was filed three days…
Secretary of Labor v. Huber Carbonates, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Huber Carbonates, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0236): Settled withdrawal order made reopening moot
Huber Carbonates sought permission to file a late contest of a section 104(b) withdrawal order. The company had already timely contested the penalty assessment for the underlying citation, which allowed the withdrawal order to be challenged in that penalty case. While the reopening motion was…
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.