    [United States Government Manual]
    [May 30, 1997]
    [Pages 549-551]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

    1730 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20006-3867
    Phone, 202-653-5625

    Chairman                                          Mary Lu Jordan
    Commissioners                                     Mark L. Marks, James
                                                              C. Riley,
                                                              Theodore F.
                                                              Verheggen,
                                                              (vacancy)
    Chief Administrative Law Judge                    Paul Merlin
    General Counsel                                   Norman M. Gleichman
    Executive Director                                Richard L. Baker

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    [[Page 550]]

    [[Page 551]]

    The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is an independent,
    quasi-judicial agency established by the Federal Mine Safety and Health
    Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.). The act, enforced by the Secretary
    of Labor through the Mine Safety and Health Administration, governs
    compliance with occupational safety and health standards in the Nation's
    surface and underground coal, metal, and nonmetal mines.
        The Commission consists of five members who are appointed by the
    President with the advice and consent of the Senate and who serve
    staggered, 6-year terms. The Chairman is selected from among the
    Commissioners.
        The Commission and its Office of Administrative Law Judges are
    charged with deciding cases brought pursuant to the act by the Mine
    Safety and Health Administration, mine operators, and miners or their
    representatives. These cases generally involve review of the
    Administration's enforcement actions including citations, mine closure
    orders, and proposals for civil penalties issued for violations of the
    act or the mandatory safety and health standards promulgated by the
    Secretary of Labor. The Commission also has jurisdiction over
    discrimination complaints filed by miners or their representatives in
    connection with their safety and health rights under the act, and over
    complaints for compensation filed on behalf of miners idled as a result
    of mine closure orders issued by the Administration.

    Activities

    Cases brought before the Commission are assigned to the Office of
    Administrative Law Judges, and hearings are conducted pursuant to the
    requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 554, 556) and
    the Commission's procedural rules (29 CFR Part 2700).
        A judge's decision becomes a final but nonprecedential order of the
    Commission 40 days after issuance unless the Commission has directed the
    case for review in response to a petition or on its own motion. If a
    review is conducted, a decision of the Commission becomes final 30 days
    after issuance unless a party adversely affected seeks review in the
    U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia or the
    Circuit within which the mine subject to the litigation is located.
        As far as practicable, hearings are held at locations convenient to
    the affected mines. The Office of Administrative Law Judges has two
    offices: the Falls Church Office, 2 Skyline, 5203 Leesburg Pike, Falls
    Church, VA 22041; and the Denver Office, Colonnade Center, Room 280,
    1244 Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80204.

    Sources of Information

    Commission decisions are published monthly and are available through the
    Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
    Washington, DC 20402. Requests for Commission records should be
    submitted in accordance with the Commission's Freedom of Information Act
    regulations. Other information, including Commission rules of procedure
    and brochures explaining the Commission's functions, is available from
    the Executive Director, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review
    Commission, Sixth Floor, 1730 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20006-3867.
    E-mail, info @fmshrc.gov.

    For further information, contact the Executive Director, Federal Mine
    Safety and Health Review Commission, Sixth Floor, 1730 K Street NW.,
    Washington DC 20006-3867. Phone, 202-653-5625. Fax, 202-653-5030. E-
    mail, info@fmshrc.gov.