Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc.

── Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Date: April 17, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Argued January 24, 2025 Decided April 17, 2026 No. 22-1071 SECRETARY OF LABOR, MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, PETITIONER v. KC TRANSPORT, INC. AND FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION, RESPONDENTS On Remand from the Supreme Court of the United States Susannah M. Maltz, Attorney, U.S. Department of Labor, argued the cause for petitioner. With her on the briefs were Emily Toler Scott, Counsel for Appellate Litigation, and Michael S. Raab and Sean R. Janda, Attorneys. Harold Craig Becker was on the brief for amicus curiae American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) in support of petitioner. James P. McHugh and Aditya Dynar argued the causes for respondents. With them on the briefs were Christopher D. Pence and Damien M. Schiff. Thaddeus J. Riley entered an appearance.  2 Thomas Berry and Ilya Shapiro were on the brief for amici curiae Manhattan Institute and Cato Institute in support of respondents. J. Marc Wheat was on the brief for amici curiae Advancing American Freedom, et al. in support of respondents. John B. McCuskey, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of West Virginia, Michael R. Williams, Solicitor General, Treg Taylor, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Alaska, Steve Marshall, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Alabama, Tim Griffin, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Arkansas, James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Florida, Chris Carr, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Georgia, Raul Labrador, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Idaho, Theodore E. Rokita, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Indiana, Brenna Bird, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Iowa, Liz Murrill, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Louisiana, Lynn Fitch, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Mississippi, Andrew Bailey, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Missouri, Michael T. Hilgers, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Nebraska, Drew Wrigley, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of North Dakota, Dave Yost, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Ohio, Gentner Drummond, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma, Alan Wilson, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of South Carolina, Marty Jackley, Attorney General, Office of  3 the Attorney General for the State of South Dakota, Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Tennessee, and Ken Paxton, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Texas, were on the brief for amici curiae State of West Virginia and 19 Other States in support of respondents. Before: WILKINS, WALKER, and PAN, Circuit Judges. Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge WILKINS. Concurring Opinion filed by Circuit Judge PAN. Dissenting Opinion filed by Circuit Judge WALKER. WILKINS, Circuit Judge: Congress affirmed the importance of regulating effective health and safety standards within the mining industry when it enacted the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 (“Mine Act”), Pub. L. No. 95-164, 91 Stat. 1290 (codified as amended at 30 U.S.C. §§ 801–966). The Mine Act reaches every “coal or other mine” (hereinafter, “min