What is the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission?
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is an independent adjudicative agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for providing administrative trial and appellate review of legal disputes which specifically arise under the regulations and statutes outlined under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act, better known as the Mine Act of 1977.
What Specific Cases does the Federal Mine Safety and Health Commission Review?
The majority of cases instituted or covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission deal with civil penalties assessed against mine operators and address whether the alleged health or safety violations occurred and whether the attached penalties are appropriate given the violation. Other types of cases administered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission will include order to close a mine, miner’s charges of safety related discrimination and a miners’ request for compensation following the mine’s closure.
How is the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Organized?
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission is headed by a group of commissioners and administrative law judges, who are responsible for deciding cases at the trial level. The 5-member commission will provide appellate review and each commissioner is appointed by the President of the United States and subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
What is an Independent Government Agency?
An independent agency of the United States Federal Government is a department or organization that exists outside of the federal executive departments or those headed by a Cabinet secretary. In a more specific sense, the term Independent Government Agency, is used to describe agencies that, while constitutionally operating within the executive branch, are free from presidential authority or control, as a result of the President’s limited membership within the agency.
Independent government agencies are established through separate statutes passed by the United States Congress; each respective statutory grant of authority will define the goals or mission that the agency must work towards, in addition to the substantive areas, if applicable, over which the Independent Agency may have the power of rulemaking. These agency regulations, when enforced, maintain the power of federal law.