The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is an independent adjudicative agency of the

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

that provides administrative trial and appellate review of legal disputes arising under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act, or Mine Act, of 1977. Under the Mine Act, the

U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the United States federal executive departments, executive departments of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of fede ...

issues regulations covering health and safety in the nation's mines. Federal mine inspectors employed by the Department's

Mine Safety and Health Administration The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) () is a large agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) to enforce compliance with mandatory safe ...

(MSHA) enforce these regulations by issuing citations and orders to mine operators. The Commission is concerned solely with the adjudication of disputes under the Mine Act, including the determination of appropriate penalties. It does not regulate mining or enforce the Mine Act. The Commission was established as an independent agency to ensure its impartiality. Most cases deal with civil penalties assessed against mine operators and address whether the alleged safety and health violations occurred as well as the appropriateness of proposed penalties. Other types of cases include orders to close a mine, miners' charges of safety related discrimination and miners’ requests for compensation after the mine is idled by a closure order. The Commission's

administrative law judge An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law. ALJs can administer oaths, take testimony, rule on questions of evi ...

s (ALJs) decide cases at the trial level. The five-member Commission provides appellate review. Commissioners are appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and confirmed by the Senate. Review of an ALJ decision by the Commission is not guaranteed but requires the affirmative vote of two Commissioners. Most of the cases accepted for review are generated from petitions filed by parties adversely affected by an ALJ decision. However, cases can also be accepted based on the Commission's own direction for review. An ALJ decision that is not accepted for review becomes a final, non-precedential order of the Commission. Appeals from the Commission's decisions are to the U.S. courts of appeals. Procedures for appealing cases to the Commission are contained in its Rules of Procedure published i
29 CFR Part 2700
The Commission also publishes these rules in a separate pamphlet. A brochure, entitled

is also available. The Commission's headquarters and Office of Administrative Law Judges are co-located in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, with an additional OALJ's offices in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. Currently, the Commission has a budget of more than

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

18 million and a staff of 76 employees.

References

External links

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

Records of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission in the National Archives (Record Group 470)
Independent agencies of the United States government Mining law and governance Government agencies established in 1977 Mine safety {{US-gov-stub

See also

References

External links