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.
Trinity Yachts, LLC
Argon hazard-training item affirmed on second remand
A Trinity Yachts employee died after inhaling argon gas in an enclosed shipyard vent trunk. On second Commission remand, the judge reopened the record to hear from the human-resources administrator who had oriented the employee, who had difficulty reading and writing English. The judge found that…
Cambria Contracting, Inc.
Asbestos violations reduced from willful to serious
Cambria Contracting removed trash and debris from the basements of interconnected abandoned warehouse buildings where friable asbestos pipe insulation was damaged and missing. Its employees used powered equipment, brooms, and shovels in debris later shown to contain asbestos. OSHA cited eleven…
Boh Brothers Construction Co., LLC.
Lifeline citation vacated on remand
OSHA cited Boh Brothers after a bridge-work accident, alleging that more than five employees were tied to a horizontal lifeline designed to support no more than five. The judge originally affirmed the citation, but the Commission remanded for clearer credibility findings and reconsideration of the…
Tecta America New England, LLC
Unprotected roof-edge work results in serious citation
Two Tecta roofing employees worked near the edge of a commercial roof about 20 feet above the ground without tying off their available fall-protection equipment. The working foreman's knowledge of the condition was imputed to the company. Tecta argued that the conduct was unpreventable because it…
Crown Cork & Seal USA, Inc.
Press-cleaning violations affirmed and pathogen items vacated
An employee lost a finger while cleaning a running can-end press near the unguarded rear of a pulley. The judge found it reasonably predictable that employees would clean beyond the machine's front because they had done so regularly and were never clearly prohibited from cleaning the rear. Crown…
AMP Electrical, Inc.
Electrical training and energized-circuit violations affirmed
AMP Electrical was installing equipment for a store's new chiller when an electrician drilled through a switchboard back plate and contacted an energized circuit, causing a flash and burns to his face and neck. The judge found that the project was construction work and that AMP could have…
Eurotech Construction Corp.
Floor-hole cover citations vacated for lack of knowledge
A Eurotech masonry employee fell about 17 feet through a floor opening on the 45th floor of a high-rise construction project. OSHA alleged deficient inspections, an unsecured and unlabeled cover, and a failure to retrain employees. The judge credited evidence that Eurotech's foreman inspected…
Skanska Koch, Inc.
Bridge fall-protection violation affirmed
Skanska Koch employees performed steel-erection work on an elevated platform during renovation of New York City's Triborough Bridge. An ironworker fell through an uncovered saddle beam hole about 37 feet above the ground and died from his injuries. Neither he nor his partner was tied off, and…
CPM Constructors
Flagger-sign citation failed under the incorporated traffic-control rules
CPM Constructors performed paving work in a busy pedestrian and retail area in Freeport, Maine. After moving its crew and flagger to another portion of the work zone, CPM left a Flagger Ahead sign about four-tenths of a mile from the remaining flagger for approximately 45 minutes. OSHA cited the…
Kandey Company, Inc.
Cave-in violation reduced from willful to serious
Kandey employees worked in an excavation to connect a new building to a water main in Clarence, New York. The judge found that a portable ladder used for access did not extend three feet above the landing and that the excavation exceeded five feet, was not entirely stable rock, and lacked cave-in…
Huron Real Estate Associates, LLC
Exit-route obstruction affirmed, lockout item vacated
A condensate-induced water hammer ruptured a steam-system valve at Huron's facility, killing one worker and seriously injuring another. The ALJ vacated OSHA's lockout/tagout item because the cited release-from-lockout provision required replacement of parts removed during servicing and cleanup of…
St. Lawrence Food Corp., dba Primo Foods
Most dairy-plant health and safety citations affirmed
OSHA conducted health and safety inspections at Primo Foods, a kosher dairy, and cited hazards involving ammonia refrigeration, respirators, confined spaces, chemical training, noise, machine guarding, electrical work, lockout/tagout, powered industrial trucks, and recordkeeping. The ALJ found that…
J.E. Amorello, Inc.
Blocked ramp and missing cave-in protection led to two trench violations
Two employees worked in a trench that OSHA measured at 5 feet 4 inches deep. The ALJ found that a backhoe blocked access to the available ramp, leaving no safe means of egress, and that the trench lacked required cave-in protection. He credited OSHA's testimony over the employer's conflicting…
Mission Constructors, Inc.
Missed contest deadline left citation final
OSHA cited Mission Constructors after inspecting a Tampa construction site. The employer's representative had a notice of contest prepared but did not file it by the deadline because he was trying to arrange an informal conference with OSHA. He sent it seven days late, despite the citation's clear…
J. Clark Framing
Informal-conference delay did not excuse late contest
OSHA cited J. Clark Framing after inspecting a Tampa construction site. The employer's representative prepared a notice of contest but did not send it by the deadline because he was trying to arrange an informal conference with OSHA. The filing was eight days late, even though the citation clearly…
Eric Dubois d/b/a Precision Home Builders and Finish Carpentry
Default leaves nine-item citation final
OSHA issued Precision Home Builders and Finish Carpentry a nine-item citation after an August 2006 inspection. After filing a notice of contest, the employer did not participate in the scheduled pretrial conference, did not respond to the Secretary's attempts to discuss the case, and did not…
A.E.Y. Enterprises, Inc.
Inadequate trench shoring results in $100 penalty
A.E.Y. installed a shoring system in a University of Rochester excavation before two employees of another contractor entered to repair a pipe. On remand from the Commission, the judge found the excavation was about six and a half feet deep and rejected A.E.Y.'s claim that it qualified for the…
Lewis County Dairy Corp.
Widespread safety violations result in $72,750 penalty
OSHA found extensive safety deficiencies at Lewis County Dairy's kosher dairy plant, including missing safety programs, inadequate lockout practices, unguarded equipment, electrical hazards, deficient fall protection, and insufficient hazard communication. Of the 33 serious citation items, the…
High Voltage Electric Service, Inc.
Electrical-shock fee application denied
High Voltage Electric Service directed subcontracted electricians responding to a power failure at a research facility. One electrician suffered severe burns after contacting 4,160-volt equipment that had been re-energized. OSHA cited the company for inadequate warnings and electrical work…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Asbestos notice violations reduced to non-serious
Trinity owned a pre-1980 foundry and hired a contractor to repair a furnace covered by an insulation blanket. Trinity believed a prior contractor had removed any asbestos, but it did not perform the testing required to rebut the standard's presumption that the thermal insulation contained asbestos…
Major Construction Corp., Inc. and Michael J. Polites
Individual respondent's fee application denied
Michael J. Polites sought $292,815.77 in attorney fees and expenses after the underlying citation against him individually was dismissed. The Secretary had attempted to hold him personally liable by piercing the corporate veil because corporations he owned or controlled had substantial unpaid OSHA…
Zichelle Steel Erectors, Inc.
Willful steel-erection fall violation affirmed
OSHA observed Zichelle employees working near the edge of a fourth-floor steel structure about 44 feet above the ground without effective fall protection. On the first day, one connector was not wearing a harness; on the next day, after OSHA had raised the issue, two connectors wore harnesses but…
Parsons Contracting
Default entered after repeated missed conferences
Parsons Contracting missed a scheduled pretrial telephone conference but initially avoided default by explaining confusion about whether it would occur. The company then agreed to a second conference, failed to appear again without notice, and did not respond to the judge's order to show cause. The…
Holland Roofing of Columbus, Inc.
Safety-monitor violations resulted in $2,500 in penalties
Holland Roofing used a safety-monitoring system for employees working on a flat roof more than 20 feet above the ground. The designated monitor left the workers' level and later turned away from them while helping place materials. The judge found that both actions violated the safety-monitor…
Municipal Services
Late contest dismissed and $3,750 penalty affirmed
OSHA issued Municipal Services seven serious citation items and one other-than-serious item with proposed penalties totaling $3,750. The company received the citation on May 9, 2001, but did not contest it by the May 31 deadline. Its president later said he had not read the OSHA letter carefully…
D’Allessandro Corporation
Excavation violations affirmed with $5,000 in penalties
D’Allessandro Corporation installed drain piping in a Type C soil excavation in Boston. OSHA found an employee working in a trench more than six feet deep without cave-in protection outside the trench box. The judge also found that no qualified competent person was present to inspect the changed…
Branham Sign Company, Inc.
Default judgment affirmed the citation
Branham Sign Company did not comply with two pretrial conference and scheduling orders. After the judge issued a corrected order to show cause, the company's response did not explain those failures. The judge found that the company had refused to participate in pretrial conferences and had…
Upstate Roofing, Inc.
Safety-monitor violations resulted in $18,000 in penalties
An Upstate Roofing employee fell nearly 20 feet from a roof while the company used a warning-line and safety-monitor system instead of guardrails or personal fall protection. The designated monitor also retrieved and passed large insulation sheets, which repeatedly diverted his attention from…
J. Masterson Construction Corporation
Willful trench violation affirmed with reduced penalty
Two J. Masterson employees worked in a trench whose near-vertical wall was more than six feet high and consisted of Type B and Type C soil. The superintendent stood at the trench edge and watched while no shoring, sloping, or trench box protected the employees. The judge rejected the company's…
Hart Metals, Inc.
Electrical item affirmed and forklift item vacated
Hart processed magnesium ingots and particulate in two chipper areas at its Pennsylvania plant. OSHA alleged that a propane forklift needed an explosion-rated designation in the open chipper area and that ordinary electrical equipment was improper in the enclosed chipper area. The judge vacated the…
Everett Group
Case dismissed after the government's lawyer missed the pre-trial conference
This case was a dispute between the Secretary of Labor and an employer, Everett Group, over an OSHA citation. It never reached the safety issues. The judge scheduled a pre-trial telephone conference, rescheduled it twice to accommodate the government's counsel, and then the government's attorney…
Brand Scaffold Rental and Erection, Inc.
Scaffold-access allegations vacated
OSHA observed Brand employees climbing scaffold members while erecting a scaffold at a Boston construction site. The judge vacated the primary access allegation because the cited provision did not apply to employees erecting or dismantling supported scaffolds. The alternative provision did apply…
R.G. Bigelow Electrical Company, Inc.
Electrical and aerial-lift violations affirmed
A Bigelow electrician was assigned to tighten a connection on an energized 480-volt circuit from an aerial lift at a Connecticut printing company. The supervisor rejected the employee's suggestion to de-energize the box and did not provide insulated tools, electrical protective equipment, or…
Saugus Construction Corporation
Fall-protection citation vacated because OSHA never proved the beam was too low to guard the edge
Saugus Construction Corp. is a steel erection contractor that was working on the Central Artery Tunnel Project in Boston. During a February 2000 inspection, an OSHA compliance officer saw a Saugus welder leaning across a horizontal steel beam with his head over an excavation roughly 18 to 20 feet…
B & R Wholesale Tire Co.
Truss bracing, competent inspection, and forklift platform violations affirmed
B & R Wholesale Tire was building a roofed addition between two company buildings in Youngstown, Ohio, when a group of 80-foot wood trusses collapsed and one worker sustained a minor injury. The judge found that the trusses lacked sufficient temporary and ground bracing and that some bracing was…
Riverdale Mills Corporation
Glove-selection and machine-guarding violations affirmed after roller injury
Riverdale Mills manufactured wire mesh at its Northbridge, Massachusetts, plant. An operator's glove or shirt sleeve caught on a sharp wire panel while he fed it into a flattening machine, pulling his hand into the rollers and breaking three fingers. The judge found the company's hand-protection…
Morse Diesel International, Inc.
All citations vacated because the contractor lacked knowledge of the hazards
Morse Diesel International (MDI) was the general contractor on the "Wedge One" phase of the Pentagon Renovation Program in Arlington, Virginia. During a September 1999 inspection, OSHA cited MDI for two serious guardrail items (a wire-rope guardrail around a second-floor opening had sagged below…
General Glass & Window, Inc.
All citations vacated after a glazier's fatal crushing
General Glass & Window is a Florida glass installation (glazing) company. In February 1999 an experienced glazier, working alone in the bed of a flatbed truck, was fatally injured when a stack of glass panes tilted and fell on him as he unloaded them at a West Palm Beach work site. OSHA…
Quinn & Kwolek, Inc.
Citation affirmed after the employer ignored discovery orders
Quinn & Kwolek did not answer the Secretary's interrogatories, document requests, or requests for admission by the required deadline. It then failed to comply with Judge G. Marvin Bober's order compelling discovery and offered no explanation. Finding a pattern of disregard for the proceeding, the…
United Erie, Div. of Interstate Chemical Co., Inc.
Confined-space items affirmed as serious
A United Erie production employee died from oxygen deficiency after entering a 4,000-gallon chemical kettle. Judge G. Marvin Bober found that United lacked a site-specific permit-space program, atmospheric testing equipment, adequate attendant practices, entry permits, and complete rescue…
Henry Zavala Construction
Default judgment entered
Henry Zavala Construction agreed during two telephone conferences to provide portions of its fall-protection program to the Secretary. The company did not send the documents, respond to follow-up requests, or explain its failure to comply after the judge directed immediate overnight delivery. Judge…
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.