MSHA pulls citation conferences out of the district offices

On Sept. 4 MSHA announced a restructuring of the Part 100 conference process and created a Conference Litigation and Investigative Resources group. Conference and litigation representatives and special investigators assigned to it no longer report to district managers for purposes of the contest process. They report to headquarters in Washington.

Section 100.6 of the Mine Act's regulations lets an operator request an informal conference within 10 days of a citation to discuss and seek modification of it. Most district offices accept those requests. For years operators have complained that the results varied by geography, that the same condition was cited in one district and ignored in the next, and that a conference sometimes felt like defending the case against the inspector's own colleagues. The ultimate decision rested with the district manager who supervised the inspector.

Under the new structure that decision no longer sits with the district manager. MSHA says the group will handle most citations and orders but will not take conferences involving accidents, fatalities or what the agency calls complex legal issues.

Two practical notes. The 10-day window is unchanged, so a conference request has to be filed fast, before an attorney has finished reviewing the citation. And the documentation you bring decides the outcome: photographs, the text of the standard, training and examination records, and a factual account of the condition at the time. That is the same file you need if the case goes to contest.