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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D.R.B. Boring Drilling Company
Five serious trench violations affirmed
D.R.B. performed boring work from a trench approximately 9 feet deep with vertical, unprotected walls. The judge rejected the owner's claim that the business was a sole proprietorship without employees, finding under the economic realities test that a worker the owner paid and directed was D.R.B.'s…
Caretti, Inc.
Masonry-block stacking citation vacated
Caretti was a masonry contractor at a Pennsylvania prison project where OSHA found a stack of blocks about 11 to 12 feet high that was not tapered above six feet. The judge allowed OSHA to correct a typographical error in the cited standard because the factual allegation was unchanged and Caretti…
Stephen K. Korsen, d/b/a MDI Remodeling and Construction
Citations affirmed by default
MDI Remodeling and Construction initially failed to answer the Secretary's complaint and later submitted an answer after receiving additional time. The company then did not respond to a planning-conference notice, its provided telephone numbers were disconnected, and it stopped defending the case…
Caretti, Inc.
Control-room deck fall citation vacated
Caretti performed masonry work near an unguarded control-room deck that was 15 feet, 4 inches above an auditorium floor. Its foreman placed yellow caution tape across the rear of the deck and instructed employees not to enter the area. OSHA observed employees working beside the deck and one foreman…
PICO Industries, Inc.
Fire-escape platform fall citation affirmed
Two PICO employees worked on an unguarded steel fire-escape platform during a Washington, D.C., theater renovation. Part of the platform extended beyond a lower roof, creating an unobstructed 27-foot fall to the street, and photographs showed one worker with a foot extending over the edge. The…
Caretti, Inc.
Canopy fall-protection citation vacated
A Caretti apprentice bricklayer climbed onto an unguarded school entrance canopy 11 feet above the ground and laid brick without fall protection. The superintendent had assigned him work below the canopy and had directed another crew to add a second scaffold stage that would provide protection for…
Carson Concrete Corp. and Carco Construction Corp.
Citations affirmed after refusal to proceed
Carson Concrete and Carco Construction sought a continuance four days before a long-scheduled hearing after changing counsel and disavowing earlier discovery responses. The judge found that the companies had known the hearing date for months, had not opposed key motions, and had waited until the…
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.