United States Steel Corp. v. Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission

In December 1980 a Mine Safety and Health Administration inspector observed five employees of United States Steel at the Minntac mine on the Minnesota Iron Range manually moving a high voltage cable which powered a drill. A citation was issued for violating 30 C.F.R. § 55.12-14.1 United States Steel contested the citation before an administrative law judge (AU) who concluded there was a violation and assessed a penalty of $345. The Mine Safety and Health Review Commission agreed to review the ease but later recused itself because of an ex parte contact by its staff. United States Steel filed…