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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
55 decisions Dennis L. Phillips

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ALJ

Barry Billcliff, dba Barry James, et al.

Roofing violations and personal liability affirmed

OSHA inspected roofing work at a hotel and conference center in Devens, Massachusetts, where workers lacked required inspections, head protection, fall protection, training, and compliant ladder access. Barry Billcliff denied controlling the project or employing anyone there, but the judge found…

December 13, 2023 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Eustis Cable Enterprises, Ltd.

Training and equipment violations affirmed after fatal line-work incident

Eustis Cable Enterprises was a communications contractor installing fiberoptic cable in rural upstate New York. A foreman died while traversing a support strand about twenty feet above the ground to repair a malfunctioning lasher at an offroad worksite. The judge found that Eustis failed to ensure…

December 16, 2022 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Revolution Erecting, LLC

Precast-concrete collapse violations affirmed

Revolution Erecting installed precast hollow-core slabs at a residential construction project in Naples, Florida. After the company directed that sixty cement bags be placed on the slabs, part of the structure collapsed and seriously injured two Revolution employees. The judge found that Revolution…

October 26, 2022 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Amazing Vitamins, LLC

Reconsideration denied and late contests dismissed

OSHA issued Amazing Vitamins numerous citations arising from inspections of its nutritional-supplement manufacturing facility, including later failure-to-abate and repeat items. The company filed notices of contest long after the 15-working-day deadlines and argued that settlement discussions, mail…

October 20, 2022 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

Lucas Shrewsbury dba Infinite Installation and Repair

Roof fall citations affirmed by default

OSHA cited Infinite Installation and Repair after employees allegedly worked on a 19-foot-high low-slope roof without fall protection and near unprotected skylights. The company contested the citations but repeatedly failed to provide ordered discovery, and the judge first imposed lesser sanctions…

September 12, 2022 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Todd's Enviroscapes, Inc.

Mower item vacated and reporting item affirmed

A landscaping employee suffered amputations to parts of four fingers after jumping from a riding mower on a 19-degree slope, falling, and having the mower pass over his hand. OSHA cited Todd's Enviroscapes under the general duty clause for using a riding mower on hazardous slopes and separately…

May 19, 2022 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

NDC Construction Company

General contractor liable for subcontractor fall hazards

NDC Construction managed a large apartment project where framing and siding subcontractor employees worked on roofs and third-story balconies without fall protection. OSHA cited four instances involving falls ranging from more than six feet to more than 30 feet. The judge found NDC was a…

October 5, 2020 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Timberline Hardwood Floors LLC

Most violations affirmed with $166,265 in penalties

Timberline manufactured hardwood flooring with woodworking machinery at the same facility used by a predecessor company under the same manager. OSHA cited extensive deficiencies involving hearing conservation, hazard communication, exits, fire-extinguisher training, machine guarding, compressed…

August 19, 2020 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

C & W Facility Services, Inc.

Personal flotation device citation affirmed

C & W Facility Services managed janitorial work at the Tampa Convention Center, including workers carried on subcontractor Awnclean's weekly payroll. A worker pressure washing an unguarded dock without a personal flotation device walked backward into Tampa Bay and drowned. The judge found that C &…

March 19, 2020 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Eagle Cornice Company, Incorporated

Roof fall-protection citation affirmed

Eagle Cornice employees cut an opening in a low-slope roof more than 19 feet above the floor. One employee returned to the roof without putting on his fall-arrest harness, stepped into the opening, and fell to the level below. The judge found that the crew foreman knew or should have known the…

January 15, 2020 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Modified
ALJ

Michael Barr d/b/a Barr Construction

Roofing, scaffold, and ladder citations affirmed

Barr Construction reroofed a residence using ladder-jack scaffolds and a steep roof. An OSHA inspector observed employees without fall protection on the scaffolds in the morning and again on the roof later that day, with fall exposures of about 18 to more than 20 feet. The inspector also observed…

December 18, 2019 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Chambers Construction Co.

Roof fall and training citations affirmed

Chambers Construction assigned two employees to patch leaks on a low-slope commercial roof four to five stories above the ground. The employees used no compliant fall-protection system, and one had received no training on recognizing and minimizing fall hazards. The company believed the roof's…

December 2, 2019 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Casale Construction Services, Inc., d/b/a Casale

Repeat trench violations affirmed

Casale Construction installed a pipeline using a trench about six feet deep near an active roadway. A foreman directed a laborer to work for up to three hours in the trench without cave-in protection while excavated material remained at the trench edge. The judge rejected the company's…

November 21, 2019 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Infra-Red Building and Power Service Inc.

Electrical safety citations split

Infra-Red employees replaced batteries in an energized uninterruptible power supply at a police station, and one employee sustained a serious hand burn during the work. OSHA issued four serious electrical-safety citation items addressing training, safety-related work practices, personal protective…

November 6, 2019 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

All Wall Builders, LLC

Roof fall protection and ladder citations affirmed

All Wall Builders was installing metal trusses on a commercial building roof in Cooperstown, New York. OSHA observed employees working on the roof without properly using fall protection and found an access ladder that did not extend three feet above the landing. The judge found that company…

May 8, 2019 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Ontario Exteriors, Inc.

Roof fall citation affirmed with lower penalty

Ontario Exteriors directed employees to cross a steep second-story roof without fall protection when moving between the eave and peak at the start and end of each workday. The judge held that the residential construction fall-protection rule applied during those brief movements and that the company…

January 9, 2019 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Modified
ALJ

J.D. Eckman, Inc

Highway traffic-control citations vacated

A motorist entered J.D. Eckman’s highway construction work zone and struck the company’s superintendent. OSHA cited the company for allegedly excessive spacing between traffic cones, failure to position a truck-mounted attenuator to protect workers, and an allegedly short transition taper. The…

November 29, 2018 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations vacated
ALJ

Mulch ‘n More, Inc.

Willful injury-recording violation affirmed

A Mulch ‘n More employee suffered a chainsaw laceration at a jobsite, received stitches and an immobilizing wrap, and was sent home the next day because of the injury. The company’s owner knew the injury occurred at work, arranged transportation to the hospital, and had prior experience with OSHA…

November 9, 2018 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Pharmasol Corporation

Warehouse storage violations affirmed, forklift items split

Pharmasol manufactured pharmaceutical and personal-care products and used powered industrial trucks in its warehouse. The judge vacated a general duty clause item because OSHA did not prove that the trucks could pass beneath rack beams and expose operators to the alleged crushing hazard. He…

October 4, 2018 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

E&N Construction, Inc.

Four scaffold items affirmed and penalties reduced

E&N Construction employees installed brick veneer from a two-tier scaffold at an apartment project. OSHA cited inadequate platform planking, unsafe frame climbing, failure to inspect the scaffold before the shift, missing fall protection above 10 feet, and a missing cross-brace. The judge affirmed…

February 15, 2018 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

Payton Roofing, Inc.

Three roof fall items affirmed

OSHA inspected Payton Roofing crews at two residential buildings and cited several fall-protection conditions. After multiple items were withdrawn, the judge addressed an unguarded roof opening, two employees connected to a single-user anchorage, and a damaged lifeline that had not been removed…

November 30, 2017 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

William Trahant, Jr. Construction, Inc.

Roofing violations affirmed, including willful fall protection

William Trahant, Jr. Construction performed residential roofing work where employees lacked hard hats, used inadequate fall-arrest anchorages, and had access to a defective ladder. Employees also worked at least 20 feet above the ground without being tied off, and one worker had no harness or…

July 27, 2017 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Davis H. Elliot Company, Inc.

Power-line safety violations affirmed after electric shock

Davis H. Elliot Company employees were installing neutral conductor wire on a West Virginia power distribution line when the wire contacted an energized 7,200-volt primary line. Two employees received an electric shock, resulting in one death and one serious injury. The judge found that Elliot…

July 20, 2017 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

Chris Welch

Residential roofing fall and ladder violations affirmed

Chris Welch employed a worker who performed residential roofing more than 10 feet above the ground without fall protection. The worker accessed the roof using an extension ladder whose side rails did not extend three feet above the landing and that lacked an alternative secure handhold arrangement…

July 14, 2017 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Accurate Elevator Fire Door Corp.

Citations affirmed after contest dismissed by default

OSHA cited Accurate Elevator Fire Door after an elevator technician was struck by falling brick while working below façade work and later died. The citation alleged inadequate hazard instruction and failure to protect employees from falling objects. After contesting, Accurate repeatedly failed to…

February 16, 2017 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

Employment 2000 Corp.

Late contest dismissed and settlement left unapproved

OSHA mailed Employment 2000 a five-item serious citation with proposed penalties totaling $25,200, and a sales manager signed for it. The company filed its notice of contest months after the statutory deadline and did not show excusable neglect despite receiving another opportunity after a…

February 9, 2017 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

J and M Miller Construction, LLC

Worker-status defense rejected and $13,800 assessed

OSHA cited J and M Miller Construction after two residential construction inspections found unprotected roof work, inadequate fall-hazard training, missing eye protection, and a narrow scaffold platform. The judge found that the workers were employees, not independent contractors, because the…

September 1, 2016 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Consolidated Barricades, Inc.

Three-year-late contest dismissed with prejudice

Consolidated Barricades received two serious citation items in December 2012 but did not contest them until November 2015. The company disputed the underlying PPE and forklift allegations but gave no explanation for missing the 15-working-day deadline. The judge found no excusable neglect or other…

June 6, 2016 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

Paul Simkus; United Airlines, Inc.

Employee asbestos claims dismissed after settlement

OSHA cited United Airlines over asbestos records, cleanup, and training at a company training center. An employee challenged OSHA's findings and abatement plan, while United separately contested the citations. The Secretary and United later settled for $12,000, represented that the cited conditions…

May 26, 2016 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

Pennrock Construction LLC

LLC members treated as employees for roofing citations

Pennrock Construction performed residential roofing about 15 feet above the ground without fall protection and used a ladder that did not extend three feet above the roof. The company argued that the workers were one-percent LLC members and therefore owners rather than employees covered by the OSH…

November 19, 2015 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

G.E.R.I.N. Home Improvements LLC

Contest dismissed after missing stated deadline

OSHA issued G.E.R.I.N. Home Improvements four serious citation items and one willful item with proposed penalties totaling $21,600. The company received the citations and an OSHA assistant director expressly told its owner that the contest deadline was March 11, 2015. Its notice was postmarked…

November 4, 2015 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

American Recycling & Manufacturing Co., Inc.

Broad safety violations affirmed after amputation inspection

American Recycling & Manufacturing produced wood packaging materials and pallets at a Rochester, New York facility. OSHA opened a safety inspection after a twenty-year-old employee's left hand was amputated when a coworker accidentally activated a pop-up saw, then opened a related health inspection…

October 15, 2015 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

American Made Tires, Inc.

Default affirms repeat, serious, and failure-to-abate penalties

American Made Tires contested repeat and serious citations from a follow-up OSHA inspection, along with a notification that earlier violations remained unabated. The company then missed settlement and prehearing conferences, refused discovery, failed to answer the complaints or show-cause order…

March 20, 2015 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

All Florida Tree & Landscape, Inc.

Willful power-line violations affirmed after fatal electrocution

Two All Florida employees were cutting branches high in a tree with crane rigging near energized overhead lines when one employee was electrocuted. The judge held that the tree removal was maintenance work governed by general-industry standards, not construction work. A serious crane item was…

March 6, 2015 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

K.E.R. Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Armadillo Underground

EAJA fees awarded after pipe citation was vacated

Armadillo Underground defended citations arising from a PVC water-pipe explosion that injured four workers. The underlying general duty clause item was vacated because OSHA did not prove that tightening the joint bolts while the line remained pressurized was a recognized hazard, and a separate…

January 8, 2014 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

Michael Buckly

Roofing citations affirmed by default

OSHA cited Michael Buckly after observing one employee removing shingles from a three-story roof without fall protection and another cleaning debris below without a protective helmet. After filing a notice of contest, Buckly did not file an answer, return the Secretary's calls, participate in the…

December 5, 2013 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

Twin Pines Construction, Inc./Teles Construction

Six items affirmed by default

OSHA issued Twin Pines Construction/Teles Construction two serious items and four other-than-serious items after a Massachusetts inspection. The allegations involved an obstructed or slippery emergency exit, forklift refresher training, injury and illness records, record production, and forklift…

November 23, 2012 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Procedural
ALJ

Sandy Woodmansee d/b/a S.A.W.S.

Roofing eye and fall protection items affirmed

S.A.W.S. was repairing a Massachusetts residential roof when OSHA found its sole employee using a pneumatic nail gun without eye protection and working on the roof without fall protection. The roof ranged from 6 feet 10 inches to 13 feet above the ground. The nail-gun manual warned of severe eye…

October 25, 2012 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Roy’s Construction, Inc.

Roofing, respirator, and ladder violations affirmed

Roy’s Construction was repairing the roof of the Legislature Building in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. OSHA saw employees working without fall protection on a steep roof that the site supervisor said was 36 feet high. Employees also wore company-supplied respirators near asbestos-removal work without…

July 30, 2012 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Kilby & Gannon Construction Services, LLC

Willful trenching violations affirmed

Kilby & Gannon employees installed drainage pipe in a type-C-soil trench at a parking-garage project. Two workers entered the trench even though it was more than five feet deep, lacked a trench box or adequate sloping, and had no safe egress point within 25 feet. The foreman knew the excavation…

May 14, 2012 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Teichert Construction

Truck inspection and trench-protection violations affirmed

A backing dump-truck fatality prompted OSHA to inspect Teichert's water-pipeline construction project. The judge found that the truck driver did not complete the required pre-shift vehicle check and that one brake push rod was out of adjustment when the truck was placed in service. He also found…

March 26, 2012 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Daisy Construction Company

Willful trench violations affirmed

Daisy Construction was installing underground conduit during a road project when employees worked for hours in a trench more than seven feet deep with vertical walls and no cave-in protection. The foreman and the acting superintendent both saw the work, knew trench protection was required, and did…

February 21, 2012 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Modified
ALJ

All Steel Consultants, Inc.

Roofing citations partly affirmed

All Steel Consultants was installing metal roofing when OSHA observed four employees working without tying off and two others using lifelines with enough slack to contact the lower roof in a fall. The foreman knew the company's tie-off rule but allowed employees to work without following it, and he…

January 18, 2012 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

21st Century Roofing Systems, Inc.

Roof fall citations affirmed by default

OSHA observed 21st Century Roofing employees working near the edge of a low-slope roof without adequate fall protection. The warning line was only about 2.5 to 4 feet from the edge instead of the required 6 feet, and employees worked outside it near a roughly 25-foot drop without a safety monitor…

December 5, 2011 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Sand Cut Properties, LLC.

Willful excavation violations affirmed

Sand Cut Properties sent an employee into an excavation that was 6 to 9 feet deep, accumulating water, and repeatedly collapsing in unstable soil. A roughly 15-foot-high spoil pile overhung the edge, and the owner directed the employee to attach a sling to a concrete structure before the collapsing…

November 10, 2011 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Modified
ALJ

Florida Power and Light Company

Arc-flash citations affirmed

An electrical contractor at Miami International Airport needed Florida Power and Light to open a meter can and remove a protective plate so it could replace wiring and a breaker. The FPL employee raised an energized bypass handle without first asking what work had been done or inspecting the…

October 24, 2011 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Daniel Crowe Roof Repair and its Successors

Fall protection and training citations affirmed

Daniel Crowe Roof Repair hired two roofers to replace a residential roof in Pennsylvania, and one inexperienced worker fell about 17 feet and suffered multiple fractures. The judge found that the roofers were employees, not independent contractors, because Crowe controlled the work, supplied the…

September 29, 2011 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

T & F Systems, Inc.

Willful low-slope roof fall violation affirmed

T & F Systems employees installed roofing material on an Ohio high school roof about 25 feet above lower levels. The judge found that the roof was about 80 feet wide, so a safety-monitoring system alone could not satisfy the cited fall-protection standard. The evidence also showed that the company…

September 19, 2011 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Summer & Winter Contruction, LLC

Roofing safety violations yield $89,000 in penalties

OSHA inspected Summer & Winter roofing crews at two New Hampshire sites and found extensive fall-protection and related safety violations. At the first site, workers used body belts, shared anchors, worked beneath a raised lift, used a damaged ladder, and accessed a steep roof without compliant…

June 15, 2011 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Burch Construction

Eye-protection violation affirmed for overhead joint-compound work

Burch Construction was performing drywall and stucco work when an employee applied wet joint compound at and above eye level without safety glasses. The product warnings and safety data sheets called for eye protection because contact could irritate the eyes. The judge found that the employee…

January 10, 2011 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Latite Roofing and Sheet Metal LLC, the Successor to Latite Roofing and Sheet Metal Co., Inc.

Safety-monitoring violation affirmed with a $5,000 penalty

Latite Roofing used a safety-monitoring system while three employees worked on a three-story residential roof. OSHA alleged that the designated monitor could not always see or orally communicate with the other roofers and had roofing duties that distracted him from monitoring. The judge found that…

December 16, 2010 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

International Diving Services

Five diving safety citations affirmed by default

OSHA cited International Diving Services after a commercial diving inspection inside a 500,000-gallon water tank. The citations alleged failures involving confined-space entry certification, permit verification, hazardous-energy controls, assessment of underwater hazards, and briefing the dive team…

September 21, 2009 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Swallow Construction Corp.

Eighth cave-in violation drew a $33,000 penalty

OSHA inspected Swallow Construction's Illinois sewer and water project after an employee was electrocuted when a backhoe contacted live overhead power lines. The parties settled all citation items except an allegation that employees worked without cave-in protection in a trench more than five feet…

March 13, 2009 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

FM Home Improvement, Inc.

Roofers were employees despite contractor documents

OSHA found seven roofers working without fall protection on a steep residential roof approximately 31 feet above the ground. FM Home Improvement did not dispute the unsafe condition, but argued that the workers belonged to an independent subcontractor and were not its employees. Applying the…

February 20, 2009 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed
ALJ

B&N&K Restoration Co., Inc.

Unsecured and unmarked skylight cover led to $3,000 in penalties

B&N&K Restoration served as a prime contractor on a school addition and placed two overlapping steel sheets over a skylight opening. The sheets were not adequately secured or marked, and a welder for another contractor mistook them for material intended to cover a nearby elevator shaft. When he…

May 5, 2008 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Citations affirmed

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.