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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Homes by Bill Simms, Inc.
All seven items vacated because the builder did not control its subcontractors
Homes by Bill Simms was a residential general contractor in Springboro, Ohio, that built custom homes using subcontractors. During an August 1999 inspection of three of its home sites, OSHA saw subcontractor employees committing scaffold and fall protection violations and issued Simms a seven-item…
Moniger Excavating, Inc.
Trench protection and ladder items vacated for lack of employee exposure
OSHA cited Moniger Excavating after finding a narrow trench about 4.5 to 5.5 feet deep with vertical walls, no protective system, and no nearby ladder. No employee was inside the trench during the inspection, and the company explained that its force-main sewer pipe was assembled and measured from…
White Electrical Construction Company
Active-train training and barricade violations affirmed
White electricians worked on an elevated Jacksonville transit line beside an active track carrying quiet, remotely operated trains. The foreman knew the unusual site and train-control procedures but gave only general warnings, provided no communication device to the remote crew, and used no…
Eslich Wrecking Company
Lead items affirmed, eye and asbestos items vacated
Eslich performed labor and light demolition during renovation of the Cleveland Public Library, including demolition of walls coated with lead paint. Judge Stephen J. Simko, Jr. affirmed the grouped serious lead items because Eslich conducted no initial exposure assessment and did not provide the…
CRS Emergency Vehicles, Inc.
Saw-guard items affirmed, restart item vacated
CRS manufactured and upfitted security and safety vehicles at a plant on Osage tribal land in Oklahoma. Judge Stephen J. Simko, Jr. held that the Occupational Safety and Health Act applied because CRS was not tribally owned, sold products worldwide, and was engaged in commercial rather than purely…
J.A.M. Builders, Inc.
Willful electrical violation affirmed after fatal power-line contact
J.A.M. Builders was a construction subcontractor placing reinforcing steel for a concrete floor in Miami Beach, Florida. Employees handled rebar up to 20 feet long on a 17-foot-wide deck beneath energized, uninsulated 7,620-volt power lines. One employee died when the rebar he was holding contacted…
Brungart Equipment Company, Inc.
Forklift inspection item vacated but illegible nameplate affirmed
Brungart repaired forklifts, and an employee was injured when a customer's forklift tipped during a maintenance check drive. OSHA alleged that the truck had not been examined before being placed in service because its battery lacked a restraint. Judge Stephen J. Simko, Jr. vacated that item because…
Bovis Construction Corporation
Excavation citations vacated for lack of knowledge
A Bovis Construction subcontractor allowed employees into a deep excavation without a nearby safe exit, adequate water precautions, or cave-in protection. As general contractor, Bovis had enough supervisory authority to require subcontractor compliance, but its liability still depended on actual or…
Korte & Luitjohan, Inc.
Leading-edge fall citation vacated under steel-erection exception
Korte & Luitjohan was installing metal roof decking on a commercial building with steel framing and wood trusses. Ten employees worked 16 to 22 feet above a concrete floor without guardrails, safety nets, or personal fall arrest systems. OSHA cited the company under the general construction…
Equity Residential Development Corporation
Roofing safety citations affirmed by default
OSHA cited Equity Residential Development Corporation after workers were observed performing roofing work without fall protection at a height of 10.3 feet. The citation alleged that the company failed to have a competent person conduct adequate jobsite inspections and failed to retrain employees on…
King Concrete Construction Company, Inc.
Willful fall violations and settlement yield $18,200
King Concrete performed concrete work on a barracks project at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The company admitted that employees working on and near leading edges lacked required fall protection, but disputed OSHA's willful classification and proposed $49,000 penalty. The judge found the violations…
Auto Shred Recycling, L.L.C.
Conveyor machine-guarding citation vacated
Auto Shred Recycling operated a metal-scrap shredding facility in Pensacola, Florida. After an employee was caught in a conveyor tail pulley and later died from his injuries, OSHA cited the company for inadequate machine guarding. The judge found that a guardrail protected employees during normal…
W. G. Kees Properties, Inc.
Eight construction safety items affirmed
W. G. Kees Properties, Inc. was cited for safety conditions at a construction site. The remaining allegations involved employees working without fall protection on a steep roof and second level, unsecured and insufficiently extended access ladders, and a stairway without required rail protection…
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.