Mining Matters

Training is among the primary responsibilities that mine operators face. MSHA’s regulations include a number of necessary trainings, with substantive requirements for each. Beyond MSHA, it is incumbent upon mine operators to provide the best training they can so that miners are working safely. The issue of training has taken on an even greater focus of late, both due to challenges of newer workers in the workforce and MSHA points of emphasis. This month, Arthur and Chris welcome DJ Schmutz and Jenifer Padgett from MSHA Safety Services to discuss all things training, including regulatory requirements, ongoing challenges, and best practices to provide the most useful training for your workforce.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and following up on the success of last year’s episode on Promoting Mental Wellbeing in the Workplace, our team is back to bring practical steps to mine operators. This month, Chris and Arthur welcome back our colleague Raeann Burgo to offer her expertise on workplace mental health. We review why promoting health is so important in the mining industry and offer a practical roadmap mine operators can take to support their employees in this important area.

In this episode, Arthur and Chris welcome a special guest, Paul Krivokuca, Vice President of Health and Safety at National Mining Association to discuss how policy-level developments in Washington, DC related to mine safety. The group discusses a wide range of issues, including the current state of mine safety policy, developments that may be on the horizon and how mine operators can take part in the process as new policy initiatives unfold. This lively discussion emphasizes the impact that these developments in D.C. have on the day-to-day work toward mine safety throughout the country.

As our MSHA team discussed in our new year prediction insight, the Mine Safety and Health Administration appears to have found its footing – and that means mine operators need to be on their toes in 2023. After a presidential administration change, retirements throughout the inspector ranks, and an anemic regulatory agenda, MSHA now appears to be pointed in a new and more robust direction. What do we expect to see in the new year? During this episode, Chris and Arthur discuss their best estimation on the five most likely agency actions and changes that operators can expect in 2023 in key areas including the regulatory agenda, enforcement, and policy.

This episode is Part Two of a two-part series discussing conferencing and the settlement process. Did you know that once you reach a settlement with a Conference Litigation Representative or Solicitor, it has to be approved by an Administrative Law Judge? The issue of settlement approval has been the subject of cases before the Review Commission for a number of years, and several more cases are currently pending. Chris and Arthur discuss the approval process and inform operators of what they should be aware of to get approval for a settlement agreement, including best practices for providing good information that justify terms of a settlement agreement. They also discuss trends in caselaw on the topic of settlement approval and what it means for operators going forward.

In this episode Arthur and Chris discuss the MSHA conferencing process under 30 C.F.R. Part 100. While it can be a mystery at times, they describe the basics of the process and what operators can expect when they seek to informally discuss a citation or order with MSHA. Arthur and Chris begin by outlining the requirements of requesting a conference and provide useful insight for what to include in a conference request. They then discuss some best practices to increase your chances for a successful outcome and alert operators to some common pitfalls to avoid. Sit back and enjoy learning about the MSHA conferencing process!

For every contested MSHA citation, mine operators and their attorneys work hard to put the best case forward to tell the company’s side of the story. But in that same case, an attorney for the Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor is doing his or her best to show why the inspector was correct. In this episode, Arthur and Chris welcome their Fisher Phillips colleagues Matthew Korn and Patrick Dalin, both of whom began their legal careers litigating mine safety cases on behalf of MSHA. The wide-ranging discussion includes how MSHA cases are prioritized within the Solicitor’s Office, how MSHA’s attorneys build a case, and how the agency and its attorneys approach settlement. Matthew and Patrick also offer unique insights from the government’s perspective on how mine operators can best position themselves for a successful outcome in litigation.

The Mine Act requires that conditions cited by an MSHA inspector be abated within a reasonable time. But who determines what is reasonable and what happens if abatement cannot be achieved in that time? In this episode, Arthur and Chris tackle the issue of abatement of cited conditions under the Mine Act. They discuss what the law requires, what operators may see from inspectors and how best to navigate difficult situations related to abatement. Finally, they discuss what legal recourse operators may have if disagreements cannot be resolved.

What are the similarities and differences between OSHA and MSHA? How should a company that operates at both OSHA and MSHA regulated sites prepare? In this episode, Fisher Phillips’ OSHA-focused podcast, Toolbox Talk, and MSHA-focused podcast, Mining Matters, join forces to compare and contrast the two agencies. Curtis Moore provides an overview of the OSHA regulatory scheme and how companies can best prepare for an OSHA inspection. Chris Peterson and Arthur Wolfson do the same for MSHA. The group then follows with a lively discussion comparing the key points for each and offers insights for how companies regulated by both agencies can best prepare.

In this episode, Chris and Arthur discuss Fisher Phillips’ brand new MSHA inspection tracker. Chock full of data, this new tool will provide operators a glimpse of recent MSHA activity. Chris and Arthur discuss the different types of data the tracker includes and how operators may be able to spot compliance and enforcement trends from the information provided. They also discuss how they hope to use the data to provide compliance strategies based on what the trends are showing.

View the tracker here: https://www.fisherphillips.com/innovations-center/msha-tracker.html