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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
H.G. Arias & Associates, LLC
Hazard-communication training citation vacated
H.G. Arias & Associates was an El Paso staffing agency that supplied temporary employees to Stampcoat, a metal-products manufacturer. OSHA originally issued three serious citation items, withdrew two before trial, and pursued a $9,680 hazard-communication training item concerning four Arias…
Sunbelt Rentals Scaffold Services LLC, dba Sunbelt Rentals
Circular-saw training citation vacated
Sunbelt Rentals assigned two employees to build the floor of a temporary paint-storage structure at a Port Arthur, Texas, staging site. One employee sustained tendon and bone injuries when a cordless circular saw contacted his hand, and OSHA cited Sunbelt for allegedly inadequate instruction on…
Pettengill Family Restoration, LLC
EAJA fee application denied
Pettengill Family Restoration framed panelized houses as a subcontractor and successfully challenged four OSHA cases totaling $78,701 in proposed penalties. The underlying decision vacated all four citations because OSHA did not prove that the workers assembling the houses were Pettengill employees…
Signet Construction, LLC
Truss-bracing violation affirmed and other allegations vacated
Signet Construction was building a 60,000-square-foot dairy barn in South Dakota using 138-foot wooden trusses when most of the trusses over the parlor area collapsed, injuring nine employees. OSHA alleged four General Duty Clause theories involving bracing, truss repair, storage, and hoisting…
Pettengill Family Restoration, LLC
Four construction citations vacated
Pettengill Family Restoration subcontracted crews to assemble panelized houses at residential construction sites. Four OSHA inspections produced serious and repeat-serious citations involving head and eye protection, fall protection, scaffolds, and ladders, with proposed penalties totaling $78,701…
JMT Services, Inc.
Six citations vacated because workers were independent contractors
JMT Services supplied a crew for framing and roofing work at an airport hangar project in Chillicothe, Missouri. OSHA issued six citations covering eye protection, scaffold support, equipment safety, fall protection, ladders, and forklift training, with $30,675 in proposed penalties. The parties…
Professional Security Consultants, Inc.
Mall workplace-violence citation vacated
A customer carried out a mass shooting at the Boise Towne Square Mall, killing two people, including a security guard employed by Professional Security Consultants, and injuring several others. OSHA cited the security company under the General Duty Clause for allegedly failing to protect its guards…
American Civil Constructors LLC, dba American Civil Constructors Mountain West
Excavator-bucket hazard citation affirmed
American Civil Constructors installed water pipe at a construction project in Aurora, Colorado. An excavator operator used a bucket to deliver a pipe plug to an employee in a trench, and the approximately 2,500-pound bucket detached and struck the employee, who died from his injuries. OSHA cited…
Cesar Garcia
Five serious citations affirmed after failure to attend trial
OSHA issued Cesar Garcia five serious citation items after inspecting a worksite in Wichita, Kansas, and proposed penalties totaling $15,214. Because Spanish was Garcia's primary language, the judge ordered subsequent filings translated into Spanish and arranged an interpreter for trial. Garcia did…
Walker Industrial, LLC
Scissor-lift capacity violation affirmed, struck-by item vacated
A boom lift backed into an elevated scissor lift at a Texas warehouse project, causing the scissor lift to fall with three Walker Industrial employees in its basket. All three employees were seriously injured and one died. The judge vacated a general duty clause item because OSHA did not prove that…
Bergelectric Corp.
Wet-cement eyewash citation vacated
Bergelectric employees watched another contractor pour wet cement over electrical conduit at a casino construction project. OSHA cited the electrical contractor for allegedly lacking a suitable emergency eyewash where employees could be exposed to corrosive cement. The compliance officer did not…
JRD, LLC dba Maslonka Powerline Services
Loader design-limits citation vacated
Two Maslonka Powerline Services employees were killed when a multi-ton utility-pole section fell from a loader's fork attachment during unloading. OSHA alleged that the loader was operated outside its design limitations because the pole was not cradled against the carriage and because the carriage…
RJCL Corp., d/b/a RNV Construction
Fall and footwear citations affirmed
An OSHA compliance officer observed an RNV Construction employee painting from a ladder placed on an elevated mall overhang without effective fall protection. The employee wore a harness, but the judge credited photographs and the officer's testimony showing that it was not connected to a lanyard…
Reyes Construction, Inc.
Four trench-protection violations affirmed
Reyes Construction excavated around a leaking water pipe in an eight-foot-deep trench with vertical walls and Type B or C soil. One trench box had an open end next to a vertical soil wall and large gaps that allowed hazardous movement, while another lacked protection along the bottom four and…
Tutor Perini Building Corp.
Scaffold guardrail citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Tutor Perini was the general contractor for a casino expansion where OSHA found guardrails missing from two upper scaffold platforms. The condition was unrelated to the fatal roof fall that prompted the inspection. OSHA cited Tutor Perini as the controlling employer under 29 C.F.R. §…
Keenan, Hopkins, Schmidt and Stowell Contractors, Inc., d/b/a KHS&S Contractors
Aerial-lift guardrail citation affirmed
KHS&S employees installed exterior drywall from an aerial lift about 60 to 80 feet above the ground. To reach around structural beams and ductwork, they repeatedly climbed onto and worked from the lift basket's guardrails while tied to self-retracting lanyards. The judge found that the aerial-lift…
Basic Energy Services, LP
Well-servicing rig hazard citation affirmed
Basic Energy Services used a mobile well-servicing rig to pull pipe stuck thousands of feet underground. A derrick hand remained on a platform about 60 feet above the rig floor while the crew substantially increased pulling force and used jars to free the pipe. The rig tipped over, killing the…
Pacific Tech Construction, Inc.
Table-saw and electrical citations affirmed
Pacific Tech Construction renovated a medical clinic at an Air National Guard base. OSHA observed employees ripping plywood on an unguarded table saw and found multiple uncovered 110-volt outlets and switches that remained energized while employees painted and worked nearby. The judge found that…
Bergelectric Corp.
Fall-protection items vacated, recordkeeping item affirmed
Bergelectric employees installed electrical conduit above a casino ceiling 24 feet above the floor. One employee disconnected from fall protection, fell through the ceiling, and suffered broken ribs and spinal fractures; OSHA also found two improper lanyard-connection practices. The judge found…
Outback Steel Services, LLC
Steel-joist securing and training citations vacated
Outback Steel Services was erecting structural steel for a new convenience store when steel joists fell and injured two plumbers working below. OSHA cited the company for failing to secure landed joists and for failing to provide training through a qualified person. The judge found that the…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Controlling-employer trench citation affirmed on remand
This supplemental decision followed a Fifth Circuit ruling that OSHA may cite controlling employers at multi-employer worksites for standards violations. Applying that ruling and the judge's earlier findings, the trench-protection citation against Hensel Phelps was affirmed. The item was…
HCI Industrial & Marine Coatings, Inc.
Barge fall-protection items partly affirmed
HCI employees were sandblasting and painting inside a barge storage tank when an employee fell from staging and was hospitalized. The judge vacated the general fall-protection item because the Secretary did not prove that HCI knew or should have known the employee was working without fall…
SJ Louis Construction of Texas LTD
Trench egress and cave-in violations affirmed
SJ Louis employees worked in a deep utility trench without a ladder, stairway, ramp, or other safe means of exit. The judge found that the improvised path required employees to climb multiple surfaces near an excavator parked at the trench edge and did not qualify as safe egress. The trench also…
Jacobs Field Services, North America
Electrical PPE violation affirmed
An apprentice electrician suffered an arc flash while terminating wiring in a 480-volt disconnect after removing protective gloves, a face shield, and a hood under the employer’s work practice. The load side was de-energized, but energized line-side components remained inches away and the arc…
Berwick Electric Company
Heavy-cable training violation affirmed
Berwick electricians pulled a roughly 11,000-pound cable through rollers and sheaves at a power plant, and one employee broke his arm when a suspended section shifted while he tried to move it by hand. The judge found that general warnings about pinch points and using a buddy did not prepare…
Ovation Plumbing, Inc.
Fall-protection citation affirmed with reduced penalty
Ovation Plumbing worked on a multi-unit residential construction project where a foreman and another employee crossed a guardrail onto an unprotected second-floor balcony more than 10 feet above the ground. They entered the balcony area to measure for a future regulator-vent installation. The judge…
Earth Developers, Inc.
Citations vacated for untimely service
OSHA inspected an Earth Developers worksite and proposed three serious violations with $5,976 in penalties. OSHA generated a citation within six months, but postal tracking showed no evidence that it was ever deposited in the mail. After discovering the problem more than two months later, OSHA…
Bronco Oilfield Services, Inc.
High-pressure line item partly affirmed
Bronco Oilfield Services used truck-mounted pumps and rigid piping to pressure-test an oil well at up to 9,500 psi. The judge affirmed a general duty clause instance because most of the high-pressure line was not secured against movement if a connection failed, and the company’s buffer zone did not…
JH Traffic Control Co., LLC
Traffic-control citation vacated and reporting violation affirmed
JH Traffic Control employees were placing traffic barrels on a busy Boise road when one employee crossed an active lane to retrieve barrels and was struck by a car, causing serious injuries. OSHA alleged a general duty clause violation based on crossing live traffic lanes and setting barrels…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Original controlling-employer trench citation vacated
Hensel Phelps was the general contractor for an Austin library project where a subcontractor's employees worked beside an unprotected excavation wall more than 12 feet deep. The stipulated record established the trench violation, Hensel Phelps's control over site safety, its knowledge of the…
F & H Coatings, LLC
Unsecured pressure-vessel hazard citation affirmed
F & H Coatings prepared to sandblast and paint a 12,000-pound cylindrical pressure vessel that rested unsecured on round pipe racks. The vessel became unstable, rolled off the racks, and fatally crushed an employee who was partly inside its manway. The judge found that the setup created a…
AAA Roofing
Unprotected awning work draws $1,600 penalty
An AAA Roofing worker installed flashing while sitting on an incomplete steel awning without guardrails, a safety net, or a personal fall-arrest system. He was about seven feet above a scaffold and thirteen feet above the ground. The judge credited the workers' and supervisor's contemporaneous…
MDC Drywall, Inc.
Repeat aerial-lift violation affirmed with reduced penalty
OSHA observed two MDC Drywall employees in an aerial-lift basket about 24 feet above a mall parking lot in Oklahoma City. The foreman wore a harness and lanyard but had not attached it to the lift, while the other employee wore no harness or lanyard. The foreman's knowledge was imputed to the…
Davis H. Elliot Construction Company, Inc.
Outrigger-pad item affirmed and qualified-worker item vacated
A line worker was injured while transferring energized power lines from an old utility pole to a new one from an aerial-lift bucket. The judge affirmed an outrigger item because the truck's rear outriggers were set on loose garden soil without separate pads, and the electrical-line standard did not…
J. Cook Enterprises, Inc.
Fall-protection citations vacated because employment relationship was not proven
OSHA cited J. Cook Enterprises after a residential framing worker fell 11.5 feet and died. The items alleged inadequate jobsite inspections, lack of residential fall protection, and failure to report the fatality within eight hours. The central issue was whether J. Cook Enterprises employed the…
Robinson Masonry
Late contests dismissed
Two OSHA inspections resulted in seventeen serious items and one other-than-serious item against Robinson Masonry, with $22,400 in proposed penalties. The company attended an informal settlement conference but did not reach an agreement and did not submit a written contest within the 15-working-day…
PM Construction & Rehab, LLC
Trench citation reduced from repeat to serious
PM Construction & Rehab was repairing sewer pipes in Houston when an employee working in an 8- to 9-foot-deep trench was seriously injured by a rock that broke from an unprotected end wall. The company had installed hydraulic shoring along the trench's long walls but had not shored, sloped, or…
Cargill, Inc.
Grain-bin and rescue-service citations vacated
Cargill operated a large grain elevator complex in Topeka, Kansas, where trained crews manually removed stable residual grain left in flat-bottom bins after gravity unloading ended. The judge found that employees were not “on moving grain” because the residual pile had no draw-off point beneath it…
Doyle K. Beckham d/b/a DKB Construction
PPE payment item reduced and forklift tire item vacated
DKB Construction performed framing, roofing, and carpentry work at an assisted-living project on the Hopi Indian Reservation. Its written policy required employees to supply and maintain basic personal protective equipment, and the evidence showed that workers paid for items such as hard hats and…
Miller Construction Co.
Four-month-late contest dismissed
OSHA issued Miller Construction two serious citations with a combined proposed penalty of $4,000. Delivery records showed that the company received the citations, which clearly stated the 15-working-day contest deadline. The company waited after receiving both the citations and a later collection…
Basic Marine, Inc.
Most shipyard citations affirmed
Basic Marine performed shipbuilding and repair work involving confined spaces, hazardous coatings, forklifts, cranes, lifting equipment, and work on barges and a pier. The judge affirmed nearly all contested items, including violations involving confined-space testing and rescue, respiratory…
Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor
Trench violations affirmed with $5,000 penalty
Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor excavated a trench for water and sewer work. An employee entered the 5.6-foot-deep trench without a ladder, cave-in protection, or the required setback between the spoil pile and trench edge. The judge credited the compliance officer's testimony and photographs…
Redline Pipeline, LLC
Trench items affirmed, water and asbestos items vacated
Redline Pipeline was the general contractor for replacement of water lines that likely contained asbestos. Two subcontractor employees entered a roughly 9-to-10-foot-deep trench after its protective box had been removed, although the previously disturbed Type B soil was not properly sloped. The…
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.