Webinar: EMLF On Demand Webinar: Recent Decisions and Enforcement Efforts in Mine Safety by Energy & Mineral Law Foundation

Energy & Mineral Law Foundation

About this Course

This course has been approved for 3.0 hours CLE credit in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. It has been approved for 3.6 hours CLE credit in West Virginia. Ohio and Virginia are pending. To inquire about other states, please e-mail anna@emlf.org before viewing.

EMLF Members can view this webinar for free using the discount code MEMBER.

Meet The Presenters

Marco Rajkovich

Marco currently serves as Chairman of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. Marco spent 30+ years practicing law in the fields of mine safety, mineral law and energy. Prior to his law career, he was with U.S. Steel Mining Company for 10 years, serving in various positions in engineering as well as production. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Mining, a Licensed Professional Land Surveyor and a Certified Underground Mine Foreman in Kentucky. Marco is also a Permanent Deacon of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, KY, now serving in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.

Throughout his law career, Marco has provided representation in several mine explosions, disasters, major accident litigation and mineral law issues, some of which have gained national prominence. He has argued cases in front of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, Kentucky state courts, the Court of Appeals of Kentucky and has practiced in several U.S. District Courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals across the nation.

Marco is a graduate of Lynch High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering with the Mining Option from the University of Kentucky College of Engineering, and his law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He also holds a 2016 Masters Degree in Pastoral Theology from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.
Adele Abrams

Adele is an attorney, safety professional and trainer who is president of the Law Office of Adele L. Abrams P.C. in Beltsville, MD, Charleston, WV, and Denver, CO, a multi-attorney firm focusing on safety, health and employment law nationwide. Adele is a certified mine safety professional and she also provides consultation, safety audits and training services to MSHA and OSHA regulated companies.

Adele is a regular columnist for numerous magazines on legal, employment, mine and occupational safety/health issues, and is co-author of several books related to mining, construction, employment law, and occupational safety and health.

She is a member of the Maryland, DC and Pennsylvania Bars, the U.S. District Courts of Maryland, DC and Tennessee, the U.S. Court of Appeals, DC, 3rd and 4th Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. She is a graduate of the George Washington University’s National Law Center, and earned her B.S. in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Her professional memberships include the American Society of Safety Professionals, National Safety Council, the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, the Industrial Minerals Association-North America, and the American Bar Association. In 2017, she received the NSC’s Distinguished Service to Safety Award.

Adele L. Abrams, Law Office of Adele L. Abrams, P.C., 4740 Corridor Place, Suite D, Beltsville, MD 20705. Phone: 301.595.3520. Email: safetylawyer@gmail.com
Ed Hartman

Ed Hartman is a Senior Trial Attorney with the Regional Solicitor’s Office in Chicago, Illinois (Region V). Ed received his bachelor’s degree in History from Saint Louis University, and his J.D. from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. As a Senior Trial attorney with the Regional Solicitor’s Office, Ed litigates cases for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Wage and Hour Division. Additionally, he defends the agency against appeals and complaints before the Merit Systems Protection Board and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, respectively. Prior to working for DOL, Ed was an attorney with the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAGC) and later, a Labor/Employment Attorney with the Department of the Army. He is currently a Captain in the Navy Reserve JAGC.

Ed Hartman, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, 230 S. Dearborn Street, Room 844, Chicago, IL 60604; (312) 353-1143; hartman.edward.v@dol.gov
Dan Wolff

Dan Wolff is a partner in Crowell & Moring's Washington, D.C. office and chairs the firm's Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice. Dan works with clients across a wide spectrum of regulated industries, chiefly advising on or handling litigation arising under the Administrative Procedure Act or as a result of government enforcement actions or commercial and products liability actions. Dan regularly appears in federal district and appellate courts around the country and before a host of agency tribunals. He counsels clients on their rights and obligations under a number of federal regulatory programs, and defends industry clients in court and before administrative tribunals against citations and penalties, including in actions commenced by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
Jason Grover

Jason Grover has been Counsel for Trial Litigation for the Mine Safety and Health Division of the Solicitor’s Office, U.S. Department of Labor since 2011. Prior to that, Jason served as a judge advocate with the U.S. Navy.

Jason Grover, USDOL, Office of the Solicitor, 201 12th St. S, Suite 401, Arlington, VA, 22202-5452; 202.693.9344
Hank Moore

Hank is a partner in the Fisher Phillips Pittsburgh office. Hank is a member of the Firm’s nationwide Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group. Hank’s practice is concentrated in the areas of compliance counseling, litigation of civil enforcement matters, accident investigation, counseling concerning criminal liability under various mining statutes, and discrimination and retaliation claims under federal statutory provisions related to mining and occupational safety and health.

Hank’s work in occupational safety and health law began in 1978, and since then he has represented and counseled clients in a variety of industries, including coal, metal and nonmetal mining, and stone, sand, and gravel operations. His practice covers regulatory and employment issues, including investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania concerning civil and criminal liability of companies and individuals.

He has litigated a number of cases involving MSHA ventilation, roof control or ERP plan disputes jurisdiction including Prairie State Generating Co., 792 F.3d 82 (D.C. Cir. 2015) , Signal Peak Energy, LLC, 40 FMSHRC 1059 (Rev. Comm. Aug. 2018) and Knight Hawk Coal LLC, No. LAKE 2019-87-R (Rev. Comm. July 23, 2020, appeal pending.

Hank Moore, Fisher & Phillips, O:412-822-6626; C:412-225-1717 hmoore@fisherphillips.com
Billy Shelton

Billy is a founding member of the law firm, Shelton, Branham & Halbert, PLLC where he practices in Lexington, Kentucky. For over 33 years, he has been representing coal mining companies nationwide in all types of litigation, including civil matters involving the coal industry, cases contesting citations under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act and criminal prosecutions under the Mine Act. In the past, Billy has represented numerous mine foremen in criminal prosecutions in the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky and the Western District of Virginia, where he has tried at least four such cases to verdict. He also advises companies concerning regulatory compliance and provides training on safety and health law.

Billy R. Shelton, Shelton, Branham & Halbert, PLLC, 859-294-6868, bshelton@sbhlegal.net
Dennise Smith

Dennise Smith is Counsel at the law firm of Spilman Thomas & Battle in Charleston, W.Va., and works primarily in the areas of workplace safety and employment law. She has over 15 years of experience representing mining industry clients in cases adjudicated before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MHSA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and appeals of agency actions. Her experience includes representation of clients facing significant citations and orders, fatal accident investigations, special investigations, and employment discrimination issues related to safety. She also counsels small and large businesses on regulatory compliance in the workplace, including human resource matters, and provides training on safety and health law. Her publications include "Section 110(c) Liability Under the Mine Act: A Fresh Look at Theories of Liability, Defenses and Representation Issues," 27 Energy & Min. L. Inst. ch. 9 (2007), “Surf’s Up: A Tidal Wave of Change in Mine Safety Law Since 2006,” 34 Energy & Min. L. Inst. ch. 12 (2013), and “Occupational Safety and Health Law,” Third and Fourth Editions, ch. 20 co-editor, Section of Labor and Employment Law- American Bar Association and Bloomberg BNA. She is a regular contributor to the weekly e-newsletter, "Currents: Energy Industry Insights."

Dennise Smith, Spilman Thomas & Battle, (304) 720-4076, dsmith@spilmanlaw.com.
Eric Waller

Eric Waller is Vice President & Deputy General Counsel – Governance, Securities, Corporate, & Finance of Peabody, a leading coal producer serving customers in more than 25 countries on six continents.

Eric has a wide variety of legal experience in the energy industry. Prior to joining Peabody, Eric served as Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Armstrong Energy, Inc., a coal producer and marketer in the Illinois Basin coal region. He previously worked at Columbia Pipeline Group, an interstate natural gas transportation and storage company, and Patriot Coal Corporation, where he held various legal positions over an eight-year period including Assistant General Counsel. Prior to his various in-house counsel roles, Eric was an attorney at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, where his practice focused on energy, labor, and litigation.

Eric holds a J.D. from the WVU College of Law and has a BS in Finance from the WVU College of Business & Economics. He is a Trustee of the EMLF and currently serves on the Foundation's Executive Committee. Eric is admitted to practice law in Missouri, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

Eric and his wife Laurel reside in Huntersville, North Carolina with their beagle, Gracie.
John Williams

John M. Williams is a native of Loyall in Harlan County, Kentucky, and a partner in Williams Kilpatrick, PLLC, in Lexington, Kentucky. John graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Business & Economics with a Bachelors of Business Administration (Finance) in 1984 and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1987. He is a member of the Kentucky, Fayette County (Kentucky), American and Federal Bar Associations.

John has represented mine operators throughout the country in mine safety matters and regularly practices before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. John has also extensive civil litigation experience in federal and state courts throughout Kentucky. He is AV® Rated—Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell and a Super Lawyer® by Thompson Reuters. His is also listed in Best Lawyers in the area of Energy Law.

John is a longtime volunteer counselor for the Kentucky Bar Association Lawyers Assistance Program where he also serves as a Trustee for the Kentucky Lawyers Assistance Program Foundation. He was the Kentucky Lawyers Assistance Program’s Volunteer of the Year for 2015. John was also awarded the University College of Law’s Community Service Distinguished Alumni Award for 2015. He is also a past recipient of the Fayette County (Kentucky) Bar Association’s Lawyer-Citizen Award. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Shepherds House, Inc., a sober-living facility in Lexington, Kentucky.

John is a frequent speaker on mine safety topics and also speaks to various groups on issues related to alcohol and drug addiction.
Danny Cook

Danny Cook is Administrator for the West Virginia Office of Miner’s Health, Safety and Training. His primary duty is to administer the mandated drug program for WV coal mine properties. With the help of two attorneys he is involved in agency rule changes that effect the program, temporary suspension of individuals mining certifications, guiding individuals through the process and evaluating compliance with the counseling/treatment requirements for the agency.

Danny Cook WVOMHST 304-558-1425 danny.r.cook@wv.gov

This Course Has 0 Sections

START COURSE