MSHA Can Improve How Violations Are Issued, Terminated, Modified, and Vacated

Submitting OIG:

Department of Labor OIG

Date Issued:

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Department of Labor

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

05-21-002-06-001

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
05-21-002-06-001MSHA-ViolationsFinal-Rpt033121.pdf	3.49 MB

Additional Details Link:

https://www.oig.dol.gov/public/reports/oa/2021/05-21-002-06-001.pdf

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
1	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Provide refresher training to inspectors and supervisors on complying with MSHA guidance for each violation type.
2	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Provide training on how to determine the subsequent inspection when multiple inspections overlap, enter violations into the system in the same chronological order identified, be specific when writing the “Area or Equipment” entry, and when it is appropriate to list “No area affected” for an order.
3	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Update system controls to improve compliance of MSHA violations with the Mine Act and MSHA guidance in the following instances: a. Verify only authorized violation types used; b. Include all required phrases automatically in the “Condition or Practice” entry when the inspector selects 103(a) citations, 104(g)(1) orders, 104(e)(1)/104(e)(2) orders, or 107(a) orders; c. Ensure 104(d) orders and 104(g)(1) orders cite eligible CFR sections; d. Verify the correlations between the CFR or Mine Act sections of 104(b) orders and the original violation; e. Verify 104(d)(1) orders, 104(d)(2) orders, 104(e)(1) orders, and 104(e)(2) orders reference the correct “initial action” by including additional crucial attributes in the system controls, such as issue date, event number, and event start date; f. Verify orders have the “Area or Equipment” entry populated when initially issuing the violation; g. Apply system controls to modifications done directly in MCAS, such as modifications due to court decisions or settlements; h. Identify modifications needed to other violations when vacating or modifying a violation; i. Verify the reasonableness of the due dates and provide warnings to inspectors when due dates appear longer than necessary; and j. Provide a warning message to inspectors when trying to issue a safeguard at a mine that would lead to multiple safeguards citing the same regulation issued for a single mine.
4	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Update the Citation and Order Writing Handbook to clarify situations when multiple safeguards can be issued for a single mine and to correct any examples that do not comply with the instructions listed in the Handbook.
5	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Improve the violations termination process by decreasing the percentage of future untimely terminations, improving the use of 104(b) orders, and not allowing due dates to be extended unless for specific, justified reasons listed on the violation form.
6	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Provide training on how to write specific supporting reasons on the violation forms or other documentation (e.g., vacate memos) when extending, modifying, or vacating violations.
7	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Develop a metric to measure performance and an internal control to verify timely uploading of violations from the inspector’s laptop/tablet into MCAS.
8	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Complete periodic reviews to determine whether MSHA personnel are meeting the timely upload and recording of violations in MCAS, terminating violations by the due date, and effectively using 104(b) orders.
10	Open	Yes
We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Work with the Solicitor’s Office and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission to implement a process to ensure violations listed in settlement agreements or court decisions still comply with the Mine Act and Mathies test.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

Open

Yes

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Provide refresher training to inspectors and supervisors on complying with MSHA guidance for each violation type.

Open

Yes

We recommend the Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health: Provide training on how to determine the subsequent inspection when multiple inspections overlap, enter violations into the system in the same chronological order identified, be specific when writing the “Area or Equipment” entry, and when it is appropriate to list “No area affected” for an order.

Open

Yes