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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.

5,577 decisions and counting · Latest decision July 17, 2026
84 decisions Covette Rooney

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ALJ

Trinity Solar, LLC, as successor to Trinity Solar, Inc.

Head and fall protection penalties reduced

Trinity Solar employees installed solar panels on a residence in Yonkers, New York. OSHA cited a serious head-protection violation for work below solar installers and a repeat fall-protection violation for roof work 25 feet above the ground, proposing $98,216 in total penalties. Trinity withdrew…

June 27, 2024 ·Covette Rooney
Modified
ALJ

United Airlines, Inc.

Aircraft towing hazard citation affirmed

United Airlines technicians were moving an aircraft from a hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport when a wheel ran over an employee's foot. The employee sustained crushing injuries, underwent multiple surgeries, and had all five toes amputated. OSHA cited United under the General Duty…

June 6, 2024 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Romancing the Stone, Inc.

Contest dismissed after failure to answer

OSHA issued Romancing the Stone three failure-to-abate citations involving hearing conservation and crystalline-silica protections, with proposed penalties totaling $122,364. The company filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. It also did not respond to a show-cause…

October 23, 2023 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Perdomo National Wrecking Co., LLC, dba Perdomo of NY, LLC

Three citations affirmed after answer default

OSHA issued Perdomo National Wrecking two serious construction citation items and one repeat item after inspecting a New Jersey worksite. The company filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge issued two separate show-cause orders and served them by email…

June 16, 2022 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Knock Out Homes Incorporated

Default reinstated and citations affirmed

OSHA issued Knock Out Homes seven citation items involving housekeeping, tools, electrical safety, ladders, fall protection, and training, with proposed penalties totaling $41,349. The company timely contested but did not file an answer or respond to a show-cause order and default motion, leading…

May 2, 2022 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

PMI International Stone Importers

Stone-slab fall-shadow hazard violated general duty clause

PMI International Stone Importers received bundles of stone slabs weighing about 7,000 pounds in shipping containers at its New Jersey warehouse. Employees routinely entered the containers and guided unsecured bundles while standing in the area where a bundle could fall. During one unloading…

May 19, 2021 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Brubacher Excavating, Inc. and Traffic Control Services LLC, d/b/a Flagger Force

Traffic-control citations vacated

Brubacher Excavating performed road construction while Flagger Force supplied traffic-control services. OSHA cited both employers under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.200(g)(1) after warning signs were omitted from the southbound approach and a nearby exit ramp, and a vehicle struck and seriously injured a…

March 25, 2020 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

Vrex Construction, Inc.

Contest dismissed after procedural default

OSHA issued Vrex Construction serious construction citations with proposed penalties totaling $34,738. After filing a timely contest, the company did not return its posting verification, answer the Secretary's complaint, respond to an order to show cause, or follow through after Commission staff…

January 27, 2020 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Jersey City Medical Center

Electrical-safety and willful training violations affirmed

A Jersey City Medical Center maintenance mechanic received an electric shock while working on a 277-volt light fixture, fell from a ladder, and later died from his injuries. OSHA cited the hospital for failing to deenergize live parts, use electrical lockout/tagout procedures, maintain compliant…

August 2, 2019 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Edwin Taylor Corporation

Willful fall protection violation affirmed

Edwin Taylor Corporation supervised residential construction of three-story townhomes in St. Petersburg, Florida. Workers and company supervisors were repeatedly present above six feet without guardrails or other fall protection, and a laborer died after falling through an unprotected opening. The…

July 5, 2019 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

HRI Hospital, Inc., d/b/a Arbour-HRI Hospital

Patient-violence citation vacated

Arbour-HRI operated an inpatient behavioral health hospital where employees experienced assaults and other aggressive acts by patients. The judge found that patient-on-staff violence was a recognized hazard at the facility and could cause serious injury. HRI already used violence-prevention…

February 22, 2019 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

BHC Northwest Psychiatric Hospital LLC d/b/a Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital

Patient-violence citation affirmed

Brooke Glen operated an inpatient psychiatric hospital where OSHA identified numerous incidents of patients assaulting staff. The judge found that patient-on-staff violence was a recognized hazard capable of causing serious injury or death. Existing controls were inadequate because communication…

February 21, 2019 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Pro-Spec Corporation dba Pro-Spec Painting

Two worksite citation sets affirmed

Pro-Spec performed abrasive blasting and painting at water-tank projects in Easton and Quakertown, Pennsylvania. OSHA cited respiratory-protection, scaffold, fall-protection, ladder, electrical-wiring, confined-space, and recordkeeping violations after a suspended scaffold collapsed at the Easton…

September 21, 2018 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Pro-Spec Corporation, dba Pro-Spec Painting

Contest dismissed for discovery violations

Pro-Spec Painting timely contested OSHA citations but did not provide required documents or written interrogatory answers during prehearing discovery. The company cited bankruptcy and lack of resources, yet it failed to comply after multiple extensions, an order compelling discovery, and explicit…

March 19, 2018 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Wright Touch Landscaping & Heavy Equipment, Inc.

Fall-protection and reporting items affirmed

Wright Touch Landscaping performed tree-trimming work using an aerial lift and from the roof of a Miami residence. A worker was hospitalized after sustaining a head injury at the worksite and later died without leaving the hospital. The judge found that Wright Touch employed the worker because the…

March 5, 2018 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

North Pac Corporation

Default affirms five safety items

OSHA cited North Pac Corporation for electrical and scaffold violations at a Northern Marianas College construction project. During the Commission case, North Pac repeatedly failed to answer discovery, participate in required conferences, and comply with multiple written orders and extended…

January 3, 2018 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Sean Benschop d/b/a S&R Contracting

Willful unsupported-wall violation affirmed

S&R Contracting was demolishing a multi-story Philadelphia building with an excavator while a three-to-four-story masonry wall remained standing without lateral bracing. The wall collapsed onto an adjacent Salvation Army store, causing six deaths and injuring twelve people. The judge found that an…

August 23, 2017 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Best Touch Tub & Tile, LLC

Citation affirmed after repeated failure to answer

OSHA issued Best Touch Tub & Tile a citation alleging serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $25,200. After contesting, the company did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge sent three orders to show cause, including notices to updated counsel and directly to the company's…

February 6, 2017 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Aldridge Electric, Inc.

Excessive-heat general duty citation vacated

An Aldridge Electric employee suffered heat stroke while working on a Chicago transit construction project and died the next day. OSHA alleged that Aldridge exposed workers to excessive heat in violation of the general duty clause. After an extensive hearing, the judge found that the Secretary did…

January 5, 2017 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

Nortek Powder Coating LLC

Repeat citations affirmed by default

OSHA issued Nortek Powder Coating repeat citations with proposed penalties totaling $3,400. Nortek filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge sent an order to show cause by regular and certified mail, and Commission staff also called and emailed the company's…

October 13, 2016 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Flintlock Construction Services LLC

Willful scaffold violations and $249,920 affirmed

OSHA found workers using inadequately planked, braced, accessed, and guarded scaffolds at a hotel construction project. Flintlock controlled the worksite and had authority to stop work, but its managers repeatedly ignored documented scaffold warnings from the onsite safety manager. The judge found…

July 6, 2016 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Croce Builders Inc.

Contest dismissed after repeated failure to answer

OSHA issued Croce Builders five serious citation items and one other-than-serious item, proposing $32,800 in total penalties. The company filed a timely contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge issued two show-cause orders, and court staff also warned the owner by telephone…

March 25, 2016 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Professional Grade Construction Group, Inc.

Citations affirmed by default

OSHA issued Professional Grade Construction Group thirteen serious items and two repeat items under the construction standards, with $43,560 in proposed penalties. The company filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. A show-cause order sent to the company's record…

June 26, 2014 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Greenwood Industries, Inc.

Hoist-area fall citation vacated

Greenwood employees handed sheet metal from the ground to coworkers on an approximately 11-foot-high roof. One worker fell while walking back toward the roof edge. The judge found that the cited hoist-area standard did not apply because the crew used no crane, winch, or other mechanical lifting…

March 29, 2013 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

Eller-ITO Stevedoring Company, LLC

Ro-Ro struck-by item affirmed

Eller-ITO assigned a longshore gang to unload chassis-mounted cargo containers from a ship at the Port of Miami. A lasher and team leader was struck by a container after signaling the mule operator to move while a rear securing chain remained attached and he was positioned in a narrow walkway…

March 8, 2013 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Artemio Gonzalez Exteriors

Citation affirmed after the employer defaulted

Artemio Gonzalez Exteriors did not file an answer to the Secretary of Labor's complaint. The judge issued an order requiring the employer to explain why it should not be declared in default, but the certified mailing was returned unclaimed and unable to forward. The judge found that the employer…

January 14, 2013 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Todd Joseph Properties

Fall and scaffold violations affirmed

Todd Joseph Properties was demolishing a church when OSHA observed two employees working near an unprotected second-floor edge about 15 feet above the ground. One employee also climbed a scaffold frame without a ladder and worked on its top platform without adequate fall protection. The judge found…

February 21, 2012 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

NRG Sound & Communications, LLC.

Worker found to be an employee

NRG Sound & Communications installed speakers on a school football stadium roof using an aerial lift. NRG claimed that the second worker was a silent partner or independent contractor rather than an employee, but both men initially identified him as an employee and described NRG's owner as the…

October 12, 2011 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Haberle Steel, Inc.

Unsecured steel plate citation affirmed

Haberle Steel stored large steel plates on edge in an outdoor rack at its Pennsylvania fabrication shop. An employee died after a nearly vertical plate tipped and pinned him against another plate. OSHA cited the company under the material-storage standard because nothing prevented that plate from…

October 7, 2011 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Shawn Telsi, d/b/a Life Time Homes, Green Pines, and/or Telsi Builders

Excavation violations affirmed with $91,200 penalty

Telsi controlled a temple-construction site where subcontractor employees worked in a deep excavation with vertical walls, large spoil piles at the edges, no nearby safe egress, uncovered holes, defective ladders, and uncapped rebar. The judge found Telsi was both the controlling and creating…

February 23, 2011 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Paramount Advanced Wireless, LLC

$19,276.65 EAJA award granted

Paramount prevailed after a fall-protection citation arising from a fatal tower accident was vacated, then sought fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge found the Secretary's litigation position was not substantially justified because it rested on a readily correctable…

February 23, 2011 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Eshbach Brothers, LP

Portland-cement washing citation affirmed

About 20 Eshbach masonry employees handled portland cement at a construction project. Workers used a hose and water barrel to wash cement from their skin, but OSHA requires clean water, non-alkaline soap, and clean towels because wet cement can cause severe burns. Eshbach argued that a bathroom in…

April 1, 2010 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Public Utilities Maintenance, Inc.

Energized-tower approach-distance citation affirmed

A Public Utilities Maintenance crew painted a 69-kilovolt transmission tower while the lines remained energized. An experienced crew leader received an electric shock on a tower where a live jumper loop was less than the required three-foot approach distance from part of the structure. The judge…

December 31, 2009 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Acies Group, LLC

Five repeat scaffold violations affirmed

An OSHA officer observed a worker on the unguarded upper level of an Acies scaffold at a New Jersey exterior-finishing project. The scaffold was not fully planked, lacked proper access and cross bracing, had no fall protection, and had not been adequately inspected by a competent person. Acies…

October 13, 2009 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Six Flags Theme Parks, Inc. dba Six Flags Great America

Health violations affirmed with $50,000 in penalties

OSHA inspected maintenance, painting, sign, welding, first aid, and park-service operations at Six Flags Great America and issued a 29-item serious citation. The allegations involved peroxide storage, chemical-resistant gloves, respirators, lead, hexavalent chromium, bloodborne pathogens…

May 29, 2009 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Wynnewood Refining Company

Delayed flare-line replacement was willful and drew a $63,000 penalty

Wynnewood Refining Company operated an Oklahoma petroleum refinery that used hydrofluoric acid in its alkylation unit. OSHA alleged that the company violated the process safety management standard by failing to correct deficiencies in the unit's flare line before further use or in a safe and timely…

September 8, 2008 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Prime Roofing Corporation

Deficient roof warning lines led to a repeat citation and $7,500 penalty

Prime Roofing Corporation provided warning lines while workers removed roof ballast in preparation for replacing a low-slope roof about 20 feet above the ground. The warning lines ran down the center of the roof rather than at least 6 feet from the exposed edges, and workers were observed near the…

July 18, 2008 ·Covette Rooney
Modified
ALJ

Prime Roofing Corporation

Late amendment denied and repeat fall citation remained vacated

OSHA cited Prime Roofing under the general unprotected-edge fall standard after observing an employee working on a parapet wall about 22 feet above the ground. The judge initially found the employee was performing roofing work governed instead by the low-slope-roof standard and vacated the…

December 26, 2007 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

Africo Manufacturing, Inc.

Missing scissor-lift guardrails exposed workers to a 20-foot fall

Two Africo employees installed sprinkler piping from a scissor lift about 20 feet above a concrete floor with guardrails missing from one side and one end. The ALJ credited the OSHA officers' testimony and rejected the company president's claim that the employees had switched lifts without his…

November 23, 2007 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Harry C. Crooker & Sons, Inc.

Excavator had to maintain clearance from an energized service line

A foreman operated an excavator with its boom six to seven feet from an energized 240-volt service drop while performing street reconstruction work. The applicable construction standard required at least ten feet of clearance. The ALJ held that the general-industry electrical rule did not displace…

October 5, 2007 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

All Around the House Services

Late contest dismissed and $1,500 penalty affirmed

OSHA issued All Around the House Services two serious citation items with proposed penalties totaling $1,500 after a worksite inspection. The employer mailed its notice of contest three days after the statutory deadline. It did not explain the delay, did not present a legally sufficient defense to…

June 22, 2007 ·Covette Rooney
Procedural
ALJ

Fabi Construction, Inc., and Pro Management Group

Parking-garage collapse decision assesses $21,000

Four parking-garage levels collapsed during concrete placement at an Atlantic City project, killing four employees and injuring 21. The judge found serious general duty violations because reinforcing mesh did not follow the approved shop drawings and longitudinal steel was installed contrary to…

May 1, 2006 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Keating Building Corporation

Parking-garage formwork citation vacated

Keating was the general contractor for a hotel and parking-garage expansion where part of the garage collapsed during a concrete pour, killing four employees and injuring twenty-one. OSHA cited Keating under the cast-in-place concrete formwork standard and proposed a $7,000 penalty. Although the…

February 16, 2006 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

M.D. Roofing & Siding, L.L.C.

Residential roofing fall-protection violation affirmed

M.D. Roofing & Siding employees performed residential roofing work on two Philadelphia roofs without conventional fall protection. OSHA observed one employee working 22 feet above the ground and another working 30 feet above the ground near unprotected roof edges. The employer argued that it used a…

January 12, 2006 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

McWane, Inc., d/b/a Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Company

Fixed-stair rule applied to earthen pit

Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Company used a seven-foot-deep earthen pit to capture molten metal spilled during its pipe manufacturing process. Employees entered the pit each workday to remove debris, but no fixed stairs or ladder were in use when OSHA inspected. The company argued that the fixed…

November 18, 2005 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Haines & Kibblehouse, Inc. and E.P. Guidi, Inc.

Trench citation affirmed for subcontractor and dismissed for construction manager

Haines & Kibblehouse installed a sewer line at a Philadelphia construction site where a trench collapsed and seriously injured one of its employees. The judge found that employees worked in a vertical-walled trench that was at least five feet deep without a protective system. H&K's foreman treated…

September 16, 2005 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

E.P. Guidi, Inc. and Haines & Kibblehouse, Inc.

Trench citation affirmed for subcontractor and dismissed for construction manager

Haines & Kibblehouse installed a sewer line at a Philadelphia construction site where a trench collapsed and seriously injured one of its employees. The judge found that employees worked in a vertical-walled trench that was at least five feet deep without a protective system. H&K's foreman treated…

September 16, 2005 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc.

Electrical citation items vacated

A Shaw electrician was severely burned by an electrical arc after opening an energized panel box at a Maryland waste-removal project. OSHA concluded that he was loosening a live lug bolt with an Allen wrench, while Shaw's investigation concluded that a wrench left on top of the box fell when the…

June 20, 2005 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

Nelson Tree Service, Inc.

Bucket-truck safety citations vacated

A Nelson Tree Service crew leader was seriously injured when a bucket truck's crank-arm assembly failed, the boom collapsed, and he was ejected from the bucket. The judge found that the Secretary did not prove the truck lacked the required inspection because the company's annual inspection record…

March 11, 2005 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

Thomas Lindstrom & Co., Inc.

Fifth-floor fall-protection violations affirmed

Thomas Lindstrom & Co. employees performed steel erection on the fifth level of a Philadelphia building about 60 feet above the ground. An OSHA compliance officer recorded three ironworkers near an unprotected edge without being tied off. The judge credited the officer and the video over employee…

December 30, 2004 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

S & F Concrete Contractors

Cord item reduced, guardrail violation affirmed

S & F Concrete Contractors was placing concrete at a multistory hospital construction project in Boston. The judge affirmed an electrical-cord violation but reclassified it as other-than-serious because the exposed color-coded conductors were not cut, frayed, or a shock hazard in the condition…

June 1, 2004 ·Covette Rooney
Modified
ALJ

Lourdes Hospital

Bloodborne items vacated, lockout items affirmed

OSHA cited Lourdes Hospital for operating-room practices under the bloodborne-pathogens standard and maintenance procedures under the lockout/tagout standard. The judge found that Lourdes' neutral-zone policy, including a limited exception for hand-to-hand sharps transfers, satisfied the…

March 29, 2004 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Galluzzo Equipment & Excavating, Inc.

Most excavation violations affirmed

Galluzzo Equipment & Excavating installed a concrete catch basin and pipe in a street excavation in Lodi, New Jersey. The judge affirmed serious violations involving trench-safety training, the lack of a competent person, missing hard hats, an unsecured pneumatic-hose coupling, an unprotected spoil…

November 17, 2003 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

New River Electrical Corp.

Energized-line clearance citations vacated

New River Electrical was installing energized utility lines in Ohio when an experienced journeyman lineman died after his bare hand held a grounded neutral line and his upper body contacted an energized metal fitting. OSHA cited two electrical-clearance provisions. The judge held that the…

October 31, 2003 ·Covette Rooney
Citations vacated
ALJ

Cargill, Inc.

Lockout violation affirmed after palletizer fatality

A Cargill employee was killed after entering a palletizer's pusher area without de-energizing and locking out the machine. Cargill argued that the event was unpreventable employee misconduct because it had written policies, recurring training, peer observations, and discipline. The judge found that…

July 3, 2003 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

D. Allen Bros., Inc.

Scaffold fall-protection violation affirmed after fatal fall

A bricklayer fell 42 feet to his death while crossing between scaffold sections that lacked end rails, and neither he nor his coworker wore personal fall protection. The construction manager's safety official had documented missing end rails on D. Allen scaffolds ten times before the accident and…

February 28, 2003 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

M. DeMatteo Construction Co.

Defective lanyard and rigging items vacated

OSHA found a lanyard with a broken latch, bent wire ropes, and a come-along with a defective latch at a multi-employer construction site. The judge vacated the fall-arrest item because the Secretary did not prove that M. DeMatteo controlled or used the lanyard. She found that the wire-rope bends…

January 29, 2003 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Coastal Paving, Inc.

Twenty-three items affirmed after contest withdrawal

OSHA issued Coastal Paving three citations containing 23 serious, willful, and other-than-serious items against its asphalt manufacturing operation. Before the hearing, Coastal withdrew its contest and stated that it was no longer in business, had no employees, and could not refute the Secretary's…

January 2, 2003 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

AJP Construction, Inc.

Fall and scaffold violations resulted in $87,400 in penalties

AJP Construction performed concrete superstructure work at a residential construction site in Hoboken, New Jersey. OSHA conducted one inspection after a referral and another after falling form material struck an outrigger scaffold, causing it to collapse and killing an employee. The judge affirmed…

December 13, 2002 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result
ALJ

Kenny Industrial Services, LLC, d/b/a Kenny Manta Industrial Services

Scaffold fall-protection item affirmed

A Kenny Industrial Services employee applied fireproofing from a mobile scaffold near an unprotected fourth-floor edge. Although the scaffold platform itself was under 10 feet high, the worker could have fallen 20 to 24 feet to the second floor, and the scaffold's low toprail did not provide…

September 19, 2002 ·Covette Rooney
Mixed result

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.