Shutdown Halts MSHA Informal Conferences
On October 1, 2025, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) furloughed 711 staff and suspended informal conferences after Conference/Litigation Representatives (CLRs) were sent home; inspection, abatement, and contest deadlines continue. The key question for operators:
Q: What's the average cost & timeline difference between informal conference vs. formal contest for typical violations?
Think in terms of time-to-resolution and total matter cost for routine Section 104(a) citations. With conferences paused, decisions collapse to pay-and-abate or file a formal contest to preserve rights.
Bottom line: Informal conferences typically run $5k–$8k per issue and resolve in about 60 days; formal contests average $15k+ and take 8+ months. With conferences suspended, expect higher per-matter costs and longer timelines unless you strategically triage what to contest.
Our position: Based on the suspension of informal conferences, deadlines remaining enforceable, and the cost/time delta, we recommend filing protective contests for issues you would have conferenced and setting a provisional litigation reserve now. Here’s why: preserving rights maintains leverage, avoids deemed acceptance, and buys time for potential post-shutdown settlements. For a 40-site portfolio, budget a floor of roughly $600k, assuming one to two contested items per site at $15k+ each, with upside risk if volumes spike. What remains unknown: shutdown duration, whether MSHA will offer retroactive conference options, and how adjudicatory backlogs will affect timelines.
Three questions to assess your exposure:
1. Do you have proposed assessments with contest deadlines running during the shutdown?
→ If YES: File protective contests to preserve rights and document shutdown impacts.
→ If NO: Hold reserve but keep ready-to-file templates and monitoring in place.
→ DON'T KNOW: Check proposed assessment packets and your citation tracking log.
→ Framework: Deadlines were not stayed, so rights hinge on timely filing.
2. Do you have low-gravity 104(a) items you would normally resolve at conference?
→ If YES: Pay-and-abate these to conserve budget for higher-risk matters.
→ If NO: Contest items with higher penalties, negligence, or S&S findings to keep leverage.
→ DON'T KNOW: Review last 90 days of citations for gravity, negligence, and penalties.
→ Framework: Without conferences, triage now what merits contest cost versus quick closure.
3. Do you have capacity (in-house or outside counsel) to manage contests across sites?
→ If YES: Centralize filings and standardize defenses to reduce per-matter cost.
→ If NO: Engage panel counsel and pre-authorize spend caps to meet deadlines.
→ Framework: Capacity decisions made early prevent cost escalation and missed rights.
What remains unknown: When CLRs will be recalled and conferences resume; whether MSHA will allow interim or retroactive conferences post-shutdown; how judge dockets and government counsel staffing will shape contest timelines and settlement posture.
Priority level: URGENT - Deadlines are running during the shutdown and inspections continue, so rights and budgets are at risk now.
Recommended actions:
☐ Stand up a protective contest protocol and template filings for all sites now.
☐ Pre-authorize a provisional reserve of roughly $600k, scalable to $1.2M if contest volume exceeds two issues per site.
☐ Triage current inventories and decide pay-and-abate versus contest within 60 days.
☐ Centralize citation tracking and outside counsel engagement by year-end to control cost per matter.
Next check-in: Upon MSHA notice recalling CLRs or resuming informal conferences.
