Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Kiewit Atkinson Kenny
Mixed ruling on tunnel electrical hazards
Kiewit Atkinson Kenny was the general contractor for a tunnel construction project on Deer Island in Massachusetts. The judge held that Kiewit could be responsible for hazards created by its electrical subcontractor because Kiewit supervised the worksite and could obtain abatement. She affirmed…
Louis Sinisgalli, d/b/a Metro Wrecking of Rochester, Inc., et al.
Willful cave-in violation affirmed
Workers were sent to remove pumps from a deep, water-filled excavation at a trailer park owned through one of Louis Sinisgalli's corporations. After the workers reported crumbling walls and unsafe conditions, Sinisgalli directed them to return and complete the work before he would pay them. A…
E & E Contractors, Inc.
Employer defaults by not showing for trial, so the citations are affirmed by default judgment
E & E Contractors, Inc., a Syracuse, New York company, contested an OSHA case in which the Secretary of Labor had alleged 46 items across three citations (serious, repeat, and other-than-serious) with a total proposed penalty of $39,600. After the company's non-attorney representative withdrew, the…
VSH Restaurant Corporation, d/b/a Vestal Steakhouse & Seafood Grill
Citation vacated after inspection evidence suppressed
Local fire and building officials inspected Vestal Steakhouse & Seafood Grill and gave the restaurant ten days to correct numerous electrical and fire-code conditions. The restaurant began repairs and had completed most listed items when OSHA inspected five days before the local deadline, using the…
Joseph Bueme
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA cited Joseph Bueme for failing to maintain a written hazard communication program and failing to provide employees with required chemical-hazard information and training. Bueme received the citation on February 11, 1994, but filed the notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline. He…
E.C.C.O. III Enterprises, Inc.
EAJA application denied
E.C.C.O. III Enterprises sought attorney fees and expenses after an earlier decision affirmed all five contested citation items but reduced three classifications from willful to serious. The judge first found the application deficient because the company did not provide the required detailed…
Guarco Construction Company
Repeat trench cave-in citation affirmed $7,000
Guarco Construction, a two-person company acting as general contractor, was installing a sewer line at a restaurant in East Granby, Connecticut. Two off-duty OSHA officers driving past noticed an unshored, unsloped trench and stopped to inspect. They measured the trench at about 5 feet 4 inches to…
Davey Tree Expert Company
General duty clause electrocution citation vacated on unpreventable-misconduct defense
Davey Tree Expert Company trims trees around power lines for utilities. On April 14, 1993, one of its working foremen was fatally electrocuted in Winchester, New Hampshire when he contacted an energized primary wire from an aerial-lift bucket while trimming under a contract with Public Service of…
Norwich Laboratories, Inc.
Citations affirmed after employer stopped defending, $3,300
Norwich Laboratories, based in Amherst, Massachusetts, was inspected by OSHA between January and February 1993 after a complaint. In March 1993 the company received a serious citation with five items (a proposed $600 penalty on each, $3,000 total) and one "other" item ($300). The company contested…
New England Roofing and Sheet Metal Co.
Roof fall-protection citations affirmed, $2,500
New England Roofing and Sheet Metal Co. was doing built-up roofing on a five-story building in New Haven, Connecticut. An OSHA compliance officer driving by looked up, saw workers at the edge of the roughly 60-foot-high roof, and went up to inspect. He found employees working near the unprotected…
McCain Foods, Inc.
Willful asbestos violations and $165,000 in penalties affirmed
McCain Foods operated a food-processing plant in Easton, Maine, while a major renovation project removed old piping and other material containing asbestos. The judge found that management knew asbestos was present, misled an OSHA inspector about the work, failed to train or protect employees, and…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.