    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2006]
    [Pages 414-416]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

     601 New Jersey Avenue NW., Suite 9500, Washington, DC 20001-2021

    Phone, 202-434-9900. E-mail, info@fmshrc.gov. Internet, www.fmshrc.gov.
    Chairman                                          Michael F. Duffy
    Commissioners                                     Mary Lu Jordan,
                                                              Stanley C.
                                                              Suboleski,
                                                              Michael G.
                                                              Young,
                                                              (vacancy)
    Chief Administrative Law Judge                    Robert J. Lesnick
    General Counsel                                   Thomas A. Stock
    Executive Director                                Richard L. Baker

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    The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission ensures compliance
    with occupational safety and health standards in the Nation's surface
    and underground coal, metal, and nonmetal mines.
    The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is an independent,
    adjudicative agency established by the Federal Mine Safety and Health
    Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) that provides administrative trial
    and

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    appellate review of legal disputes arising from enforcement actions
    taken by the Department of Labor.
        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 appointed from among the
    Commissioners by the President.
        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. In addition to its Washington, DC, offices, the
    Office of Administrative Law Judges maintains an office in the Colonnade
    Center, Room 280, 1244 Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80204.

    Sources of Information

    Commission decisions are published bimonthly and are available through
    the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
    Washington, DC 20402. The Commission's web site includes recent
    decisions, a searchable database of previous decisions, procedural
    rules, and other pertinent information. 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, Suite 9500, 601 New Jersey Avenue NW., Washington, DC
    20001-2021. E-mail, info@fmshrc.gov.

    For further information, contact the Executive Director, Federal Mine
    Safety and Health Review Commission, Suite 9500, 601 New Jersey Avenue
    NW., Washington DC 20001-2021. Phone, 202-434-9905. Fax, 202-434-9906.
    Internet, www.fmshrc.gov. E-mail, info@fmshrc.gov.

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