DC Circuit Dismisses Labor Secretary’s Bid to Scrap Citations

A federal appeals court dismissed the secretary of labor’s request that it rule she has the power to unilaterally settle mine safety cases before an independent review body weighs in on them.

The Department of Labor tried to settle cases involving millions of dollars in penalties against several coal mining companies that were contesting the citations before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, a panel that’s supposed to independently review mine safety-related disputes. FMSHRC judges denied DOL leadership’s settlement offers in several cases. The agency then asked the appeals court to rule it has the authority to modify or settle contested penalties.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit doesn’t have the authority to review or overturn a non-final decision by FMSHRC under the Mine Act, according to Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee. The court dismissed DOL’s petition for review.

Henderson said in her opinion delaying an appellate decision until a final order is rendered by FMSHRC will neither cause substantial harm to the public interest nor the agency’s ability to eventually challenge a final decision by the independent body.

“These mechanisms confirm for us that we need depart neither from the text of section 106(b) nor from the traditional rules of appellate jurisdiction in this case,” said Henderson.

The case before the federal appeals court stems from an instance where an administrative law judge for the FMSHRC asked the secretary to explain the settlement terms and the secretary responded that she didn’t need to. The ALJ then denied the secretary’s motions to settle the case and the full commission upheld that order.

The DOL claimed the labor secretary has “unreviewable prosecutorial discretion” over certain enforcement decisions, such as whether it can remove the “significant and substantial” designation—which comes with stricter penalties—from alleged violations.

Judges Florence Pan and J. Michelle Childs, two Biden-appointed judges, joined the opinion.

The case is Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal LLC, D.C. Cir., No. 24-01293, 3/31/26 and Secretary of Labor v. Crimson Oak Grove Resources, LLC, D.C. Cir., No. 24-1294, 3/31/26.