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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Enwright Roofing, LLC
Repeat fall-protection and ladder violations affirmed
Enwright Roofing was a small New York residential roofing contractor replacing shingles on a home in Oswego. OSHA observed the owner and an employee working 8 to 10 feet above the ground without fall protection and using two extension ladders whose rails did not extend three feet above the roof…
Masis Staffing Solutions, LLC
Unstable truss-bundle citation affirmed
Masis Staffing supplied temporary workers to a roof-truss manufacturer in Gainesville, Florida. A forklift operator left a 2,000-pound bundle of trusses standing vertically and unsupported for about ten minutes, and it fell onto a Masis worker who was securing another bundle to a trailer. The judge…
TCP Specialists, LLC
Pressurized-piping buffer-zone violation affirmed
TCP Specialists provided wireline services during work on a gas well in San Augustine County, Texas. When well pressure was released into unrestrained pump piping, the pipe ruptured and whipped violently, killing two workers and injuring three others. The judge found that TCP lacked control over…
Premier Bulk Stevedoring, LLC
Crane-visibility citation vacated
Premier Bulk Stevedoring used a shipboard crane to move rolls of paper from a dock into a vessel's cargo hold. OSHA alleged that the crane operator could not see the signalman guiding the draft's movement and cited the longshoring rule that prohibits hoisting a draft unless the operator can see the…
Dish Network, L.L.C.
Willful rooftop fall-protection citation vacated
A DISH technician installed a satellite antenna on a flat restaurant roof about 14 feet above the ground in Syracuse, New York. Two OSHA compliance officers observing from a restaurant 175 to 200 feet away believed the technician was not attached to fall protection and OSHA issued a willful…
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation and Tyler Wallace
Conveyor machine-guarding citation vacated
Louisiana-Pacific manufactured oriented strand board at a mill where an employee's hand and arm were caught in the ingoing nip point of a trim-waste conveyor while he was cleaning nearby. OSHA alleged that the unguarded nip point violated the machine-guarding standard and proposed a $13,653…
Fama Construction, LLC
Roofing violations affirmed against controlling employer
Fama held the roofing contract for a residential townhome project and used subcontractors with a history of fall-protection violations. On remand, the judge found Fama liable as a controlling employer because it had stopped worksite safety inspections and did not take reasonable measures to prevent…
Gander & White Shipping, Inc.
Powered-industrial-truck training citation affirmed
OSHA inspected Gander & White Shipping after an employee was injured in a fall from a scissor lift at its Miami warehouse. The inspection found that employees operated powered industrial trucks without completing the required training and evaluation. The operations manager admitted the employees…
Darling Ingredients, Inc.
Repeat hydrolizer lockout violations affirmed
Darling Ingredients operated a chicken-rendering facility where a pressurized hydrolizer became clogged. After normal pressure-relief methods failed, maintenance employees loosened bolts on a flange, which blew off and released steam and hot material; two employees died. The judge found that…
Bonded Roofing Services, Inc.
Roofing safety citations affirmed
OSHA observed three Bonded Roofing workers on a commercial roof without fall protection. One employee used a pneumatic nail gun without approved eye protection, and the access ladder did not extend at least three feet above the roof landing. The company owner was onsite and signed an inspection…
Rolly Marine Service Company
Hydraulic-press citations vacated
A Rolly Marine yard foreman died from blunt-force injuries after a metal bar was ejected from a modified hydraulic press and struck his abdomen. OSHA cited the shipyard under the general duty clause for operating a press altered from its original design and under the machine-guarding standard for…
Greenbrier Central LLC
Railcar fall citation vacated for lack of fair notice
Greenbrier Central LLC manufactured tank railcars at its Marmaduke, Arkansas facility. OSHA cited the company after employees performed touchup work on railcar tops near open entry hatches without the fall protection specified by 29 C.F.R. § 1910.28(b)(3)(i), and proposed a $10,603 penalty. The…
Far From Broken Auto Sales, Inc. d/b/a/ Smart Choice Auto Sales, Inc.
Roof and ladder violations affirmed
Far From Broken Auto Sales bought, repaired, and sold used vehicles at a Florida property. Its employee replaced damaged plywood on a low-slope shed roof more than eight feet above the ground without fall protection and used an unsecured ladder placed in front of a doorway and open to vehicle…
United States Postal Service
Ceiling-tile housekeeping citation vacated as outside standard's scope
OSHA inspected a Postal Service facility in Dora, Alabama after an employee complained about mold and mildew from water leaking onto ceiling tiles. The compliance officer observed stained and discolored ceiling tiles and insulation, but the record did not establish that mold or mildew was present…
Warzala Construction
Citations vacated because roofer was not an employee
OSHA investigated after a worker fell nearly 30 feet through a deteriorated metal roof and died. It cited Warzala Construction for failing to provide fall protection and for failing to report an employee fatality to OSHA within eight hours. The worker had performed other hourly labor for Warzala…
Nguyens Goal, Inc.
Business held responsible as employer for four safety violations
Nguyens Goal owned properties and was remodeling an apartment when a worker fell more than eight feet from an attic while installing insulation without fall protection. The worker sustained a serious injury and was hospitalized, but the company did not report the hospitalization to OSHA. The…
International Fire Protection, Inc.
Narrow scaffold-plank citation affirmed
International Fire Protection employees replaced sprinkler-system components inside a cooling tower about 40 to 50 feet above the ground. The crew used movable wood planks about 10 inches wide as working surfaces and walkways, and a foreman suffered a serious arm injury when a plank twisted and he…
R. K. Wallace Construction Inc. d/b/a Wallace Steel Erectors
Eye and fall-protection violations affirmed
Wallace Steel Erectors was a subcontractor on a Mississippi construction project. OSHA observed one employee cutting metal with an angle grinder without eye protection and five employees working about 15 feet above concrete without being tied off or otherwise protected from falls. The judge found…
FAMA Construction, LLC.
Roofing safety violations affirmed at two residential sites
FAMA Construction arranged roofing work at two residential construction sites in Lawrenceville, Georgia. OSHA cited ladder, eye protection, and fall protection violations involving two roofing crews. The judge found that FAMA was the workers' employer and, alternatively, a controlling employer that…
Sanderson Farms, Inc. – Processing Division
Ammonia process-safety items partly affirmed
Sanderson Farms operated a chicken processing plant that used anhydrous ammonia for refrigeration. OSHA cited several process safety management deficiencies involving engineering-practice documentation, diagrams, ventilation information, written mechanical-integrity procedures, and equipment…
All-Pro Construction Services, Inc.
Two residential fall protection citations affirmed
All-Pro Construction Services performed roofing work on new homes in central Florida. OSHA observed two separate three-person crews working on sloped roofs without required fall protection, first at a height of about 18 feet and then two days later at about 9 feet. The judge found that the…
Tampa Electric Company
Ammonia emergency-response items vacated
An anhydrous ammonia release occurred at Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend power plant. OSHA cited the company's emergency response plan and the respiratory protection used by employees who investigated the release. The judge found that the Secretary improperly treated the emergency-response…
AltairStrickland, LLC
All citation items vacated
AltairStrickland was removing a 24,000-pound heat exchanger at an ExxonMobil refinery when a pipe fell, killing one crew member and injuring the foreman. OSHA alleged that the company failed to provide required training and violated crane and rigging standards. The judge found that OSHA rules did…
Randall Mechanical, Inc.
Late contest dismissed on reconsideration
Randall Mechanical received an OSHA citation on July 3, 2017, but filed its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline. The judge initially granted relief for excusable neglect. After the Commission emphasized that the reason for delay and whether it was within the employer's control are…
Jody Wilson Construction, Inc.
Fall citation reduced from willful to serious
Jody Wilson Construction installed siding and screen enclosures and agreed to make an additional siding repair from a residential roof more than eight feet above the ground. Two employees worked on the roof without guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems, and the foreman fell and…
Central Site Development, LLC
EAJA fees awarded after citations vacated
Central Site Development sought attorney fees after it prevailed against two OSHA citation items arising from a fatal incident at a construction site. The underlying decision vacated a general duty clause item alleging a struck-by hazard and a recordkeeping item alleging failure to provide an OSHA…
Elmer Cook Construction, Inc.
Fall-protection and ladder items affirmed
Elmer Cook Construction employees applied waterproofing material on a low-slope roof while using fall-protection equipment incorrectly. One employee was not connected to a lifeline, and another used an improperly attached system that would not prevent a fall to the ground. The employees also used a…
The Thomas J. Dyer Company
Gas-cylinder storage item vacated
The Thomas J. Dyer Company kept oxygen and fuel-gas cylinders in separate compartments of a steel cage while performing daily welding and cutting work at a medical-center project. The judge found that OSHA did not prove the cylinders were “in storage” because the cage was accessed as needed and gas…
Central Site Development, LLC
Struck-by and recordkeeping citations vacated
Central Site Development performed site-development work at a Florida apartment project where its supervisor, while operating a bulldozer in reverse, struck and killed an employee of a subcontractor. OSHA cited Central Site under the general duty clause for a struck-by hazard and separately for not…
Barnard Construction Company, Incorporated
Grinder and floor-cover items partly affirmed
Barnard Construction faced safety and health citations arising from work at a federally owned Kentucky power project. The judge affirmed a serious bench-grinder item because its work rests exceeded the permitted gap and the accessible machine had not been effectively tagged or removed from employee…
Juan Guillen
Scaffold-training citation affirmed on summary judgment
OSHA cited Juan Guillen for failing to provide required scaffold-hazard training under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.454(a). An employee working from a mobile scaffold fell and died from his injuries. Guillen did not answer the Secretary's complaint or requests for admissions, so the material allegations were…
Vulcan Industrial Contractors Co., LLC
Asbestos cleanup citation vacated
Vulcan Industrial Contractors performed asbestos abatement on boiler piping at an Alabama power plant using glove bags, sealed work areas, HEPA vacuuming, and disposal controls. OSHA later found a small piece of asbestos-containing debris embedded in a scaffold plank after Vulcan had deregulated…
Samsson Construction, Incorporated
Scaffold violations affirmed with $30,000 in penalties
Samsson Construction was the general contractor for a Florida retail construction project where employees used an incompletely planked scaffold without required guardrails and climbed the scaffold frame for access. A stucco-crew supervisor knew the planking and guardrail setup did not comply with…
Payton Roofing, Inc.
Safety-monitor violation affirmed with increased penalty
Payton Roofing employees worked on a low-slope commercial roof about nine feet above the ground without personal fall protection. A company officer said he was serving as the safety monitor, but he remained on the ground and could not see employees working on the back side of the roof. The judge…
PM Construction & Rehab, L.P., a Subsidiary of Inland Pipe Rehabilitation, LLC
Manhole safety citations and $14,700 vacated
A pipe-replacement crew member suffered a fatal injury after entering a manhole against instructions, but the record did not establish the accident's cause. The judge found that the Secretary did not prove other workers were exposed to the manhole edge and that the worker inside used a fall-arrest…
Eloy Del Toro
Late contest barred by signed settlement waiver
Eloy Del Toro signed an informal settlement resolving three serious citation items and expressly waived the right to contest the modified citations and penalties. More than a year later, Del Toro filed a notice of contest after financial difficulties interrupted settlement payments. The judge found…
Kirtley Roofing and Sheet Metal, LLC
Repeat roof fall violation draws $24,500 penalty
Four Kirtley Roofing employees worked on a low-slope canopy roof with unprotected edges and without an effective fall-protection system. The designated safety monitor performed other tasks, and workers began moving roofing materials before anyone was tied off. The judge also found substantial…
Key Energy Services, LLC
Lightning hazard citation vacated
Three Key Energy employees and another contractor's employee were injured when lightning struck a rural gas-well worksite. OSHA cited Key Energy under the general duty clause and proposed training, stopping work during severe weather, and weather radios as abatement. The judge found that Key Energy…
Pepper Contracting Services, Inc.
Highway work-zone struck-by citation affirmed
Pepper Contracting supervised a highway milling operation where an employee was assigned to uncover a utility box in the path of moving dump trucks. A subcontractor's truck struck the employee, who later died from his injuries. The judge found that Pepper knew workers and vehicles could conflict…
Matsu Alabama, Inc., d/b/a A Division of Matcor Automotive, Inc.
Press-safety and repeat machine-guarding citations largely affirmed
Matsu Alabama assigned a temporary worker hired as a janitor to operate and load a mechanical press without adequate press training or supervision. A bent crowder-bar safeguard failed to keep him within the light curtain, and the press caused severe amputation injuries to both hands and one…
Byrd Telcom, Inc.
Gin-pole rigging hazard citation affirmed
A Byrd Telcom crew was raising a 40-foot, 1,800-pound gin pole on a cellular tower when a carabiner used in the rigging failed. The falling pole and rigging fatally struck two workers. The judge found that industry practice required properly secured rigging with chokers and a shackle, and that the…
Jacobs Field Services of North America, Inc.
Two process-equipment integrity items affirmed after chemical release
A Jacobs maintenance technician was burned when removing bolts from an actuator assembly released a hazardous chemical from a settling tank at an AkzoNobel plant. The judge held that Jacobs could be responsible as the exposing contractor even though AkzoNobel owned and operated the process. Jacobs…
U.S. Utility Contractor Company
EAJA fees awarded after unsupported electrical citation
U.S. Utility prevailed when the judge vacated a serious electrical citation based on a worker's claim that he had been shocked while stripping wire. The judge found OSHA's position was not substantially justified because repeated tests showed the circuit was dead, tools and breakers showed no…
Alabama Salvage Auction Company, Inc., d/b/a Total Resource Auctions
Electrical and hazard-communication violations affirmed
Alabama Salvage employees used a shop vacuum in a wet car-wash area with an extension cord that had damaged insulation, exposed copper, and a severed grounding wire. The company admitted the electrical violations but argued they were not serious because the circuit had a ground-fault interrupter…
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.