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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Richard Kaposy d/b/a Treeman Landscaping
Rule 60(b)(6) relief denied and penalties left final
OSHA issued two willful and five serious items after an employee was electrocuted when a tree branch contacted a power line. Kaposy withdrew his contest, making the citations and $119,700 in penalties final, but later claimed the settlement judge had promised the penalties would disappear. After…
AAA Roofing
Unprotected awning work draws $1,600 penalty
An AAA Roofing worker installed flashing while sitting on an incomplete steel awning without guardrails, a safety net, or a personal fall-arrest system. He was about seven feet above a scaffold and thirteen feet above the ground. The judge credited the workers' and supervisor's contemporaneous…
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…
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…
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…
United States Postal Service
Asbestos item vacated and repeat spider violation affirmed
OSHA cited a Nevada post office over asbestos hazard communication and vermin control, along with several items the Postal Service later stopped contesting. The judge vacated the asbestos item because the Secretary did not prove the cited floor material contained regulated asbestos. The…
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…
Southern Pan Services Company
Two willful formwork violations affirmed for $125,000
Southern Pan Services Company was the concrete formwork contractor on a six-story parking structure that partially collapsed during a concrete pour. One Southern Pan employee died, another was seriously injured, and more than twenty other workers were injured. After the Commission remanded the…
Richard Snader Installation Partners
Roofing violations affirmed for $33,600
Richard Snader Installation Partners performed roofing work at an apartment building with three workers on the roof. The judge found that the workers were employees under the OSH Act because Richard Snader controlled their work and pay, despite his claim that they were partners. The inspection did…
Jack Durham d/b/a Jack Durham and Company
Awning safety citation vacated because workers were independent contractors
Jack Durham and Company hired a handyman to repair a leaking metal awning at a strip mall. OSHA cited alleged roof fall, training, and ladder violations after inspectors saw two people working on the awning. The judge found that the handyman controlled how to perform the repair, worked for multiple…
JMD Roofing & Siding, LLC
Late contest dismissed after employer stopped participating
OSHA issued JMD Roofing & Siding several serious and other-than-serious construction citations with proposed penalties totaling $8,400. The company received the citation and was told in Spanish how and when to contest it, but filed its notice about six weeks after the deadline. It later stopped…
Cranesville Aggregate Companies, Inc., d/b/a Scotia Bag Plant
Divided Commission leaves six OSHA citations vacated
OSHA issued Cranesville Aggregate three safety citations and three health citations for its bag plant, with proposed penalties totaling $508,500. The judge vacated all six after finding that Mine Safety and Health Administration authority over the facility preempted OSHA jurisdiction. The two…
RG Design Express Inc.
Saw-guard violations affirmed and fall item vacated
RG Design Express was building a home where workers used two table saws without adjustable hood guards or anti-kickback fingers. The judge found that the workers were employees, not independent contractors, and that the foreman's cooperation gave OSHA consent to inspect. Both saw-guard instances…
Citgo Petroleum Corporation
Refinery lockout procedure citation affirmed
Citgo employees isolated a refinery pump for contractor maintenance, but an obstructed valve remained partly open and hydrocarbons escaped before a fire caused extensive property damage. OSHA cited Citgo because its written lockout/tagout procedures did not specify how employees should test and…
Conrad Yelvington Distributors, Inc.
Rail-yard general duty citation affirmed
Conrad Yelvington Distributors operated an aggregate train through a commuter-rail construction site where a derail device had been placed on the track. The train struck the device and overturned, fatally injuring the conductor. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause for failing to…
Croce Builders Inc.
Contest dismissed after repeated failure to answer
OSHA issued Croce Builders five serious citation items and one other-than-serious item, proposing $32,800 in total penalties. The company filed a timely contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. The judge issued two show-cause orders, and court staff also warned the owner by telephone…
David Dzenutis d/b/a Royal Construction Company
Roofing and ladder violations affirmed
Royal Construction employees performed roofing work without a compliant hazard communication program, a nearby fire extinguisher, or adequate fall protection. OSHA also cited unsafe roof access, insufficient ladder extension, carrying a load while descending, and failure to keep one hand on the…
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…
The Davey Tree Expert Company
Line-clearance logging citations vacated
A Davey Tree crew was felling dead trees near power lines when two trees fell toward the crew and one fatally struck an employee. OSHA pursued two logging-standard items concerning first-aid kit contents and spacing between workers. The Commission applied its companion Davey Tree decision and held…
The Davey Tree Expert Company
Logging citation vacated for utility line-clearance work
A Davey Tree crew was clearing trees near utility lines when a falling tree struck other trees and dislodged a limb that fatally injured an employee. OSHA cited the company under the logging rule for inadequate spacing between workers. The Commission held that the logging standard covers the…
S.J. Louis Construction of Texas
Confined-space citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Two S.J. Louis Construction employees died after entering an active sewer manhole containing hydrogen sulfide and very low oxygen. The judge found that the general-industry confined-space rules did not apply to the construction work, but affirmed an alternative general duty clause citation. The…
Sterling Technologies, Inc.
Incomplete settlement order set aside and remanded
OSHA issued Sterling Technologies a serious citation with two items. The judge approved an informal settlement that resolved only one item but mistakenly submitted the order for final docketing. Before the order became final, the parties filed an amended settlement resolving both items, but the…
Peco Foods, Inc.
Eye-protection citation affirmed on poultry debone line
Peco Foods did not allow employees on its poultry debone line to wear safety glasses, although liquid and chicken residue splattered around the work area. OSHA inspected after an employee cut his eyelid with a knife, but the judge found that knives were not among the hazards covered by the cited…
SSA Pacific, Inc.
Gangway citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
SSA Pacific was unloading vehicles from a ship when someone tied a short plank to a midship gangway that had been designated unsafe and raised out of service. The plank lacked required rails and obstructed passage, and a superintendent used it while trying to have the condition corrected. The judge…
Rheem Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Late-contest ruling set aside for an evidentiary hearing
Rheem Manufacturing filed its notice of contest three weeks late after a security guard signed for the OSHA citation but the document never reached the responsible personnel. Rheem sought relief for excusable neglect and described its mail-handling procedures through an affidavit. The judge denied…
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Combustible-dust case settled and dismissed
OSHA cited Cooper Tire over alleged carbon-black dust hazards at its Tupelo tire plant. After withdrawals and a partial settlement, the judge vacated the remaining general duty, hazardous-location, and housekeeping items because the Secretary did not prove the cited combustible-dust conditions…
Mauricio Diaz Construction
Repeat residential fall violation affirmed
Three Mauricio Diaz Construction workers performed framing work near the peak of a two-story duplex roof. OSHA photographs showed that harnesses were not connected to lifelines or anchor points, despite the owner's claim that workers stayed tied off. The judge credited the inspector and found the…
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…
All Steel, Inc.
Late contest dismissed for lack of excusable neglect
OSHA issued All Steel two citations containing four items and proposed $2,800 in penalties. The company filed its notice of contest 53 days after the statutory deadline, explaining that family illness and the demands of keeping the business operating caused the delay. The judge found those general…
Charles W. Mason, DDS, & Associates, PLLC
Chemical training and sharps disposal violations affirmed
Clinical assistants at an orthodontic practice handled hydroquinone film-developing solution without effective hazard training and disposed of blood- or saliva-contaminated dental wires in plastic trash bags. The Commission found the chemical hazardous and held that training begun after OSHA's…
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…
Dana Container, Inc.
Confined-space program and willful entry violations affirmed
Dana Container employees entered truck tanks when mechanical washing left residue. A supervisor entered a dirty tank without atmospheric testing, an entry permit, or a retrieval system and was found unconscious. The Commission found his deliberate rule violations foreseeable because management had…
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…
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…
Film Allman, LLC
Willful train-trestle hazard citation affirmed
Film Allman directed twenty to twenty-three employees to film a movie scene on an active railroad trestle. The company knew the railroad had twice denied permission, had no railroad representative controlling train traffic, and did not create a workable emergency exit plan. When a train approached…
Pan Oceanic Engineering Co., Inc.
Willful trench violation affirmed and other items vacated
Pan Oceanic Engineering performed underground sewer repair work in Chicago. An employee entered an approximately 8-foot-10-inch trench without cave-in protection even though hydraulic shoring was beside the trench, and the company had five prior final citations involving the same cave-in protection…
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…
Moorhead Brothers, Inc.
Backup-alarm citation vacated on evenly balanced evidence
Moorhead Brothers was clearing a utility right-of-way in Ohio when a company truck backed over and killed an employee who was on foot. OSHA cited the site-clearing contractor under the construction vehicle standard that requires either an audible reverse alarm or an observer when the driver's rear…
Alro Steel Corporation
Band-saw lockout citation vacated
OSHA cited Alro Steel after inspecting two band saws at its Toledo, Ohio facility. Employees changing blades turned off the saw, locked a cover over the start button, and kept the key, but did not isolate the machines at the main electrical disconnect. The Secretary argued that relying on control…
Basic Energy Services
Well-rig stair and guardrail violations affirmed
Basic Energy Services provided well-servicing work at an oil and gas well near Hawkins, Texas. OSHA observed employees working on an elevated rig platform where stairs between platform levels were broken and replaced with a box, and a roughly six-foot section of guardrail was missing. The judge…
Meadows Construction Company LLC
Roof-anchor and unattended-telehandler violations affirmed
Meadows Construction was replacing shingles on a two-story police station in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Six employees worked on a steep roof about 25 feet above the ground, and one employee connected his fall-arrest system to a reusable roof anchor secured by only one of its two flanges. The…
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…
Richard Hargrove d/b/a R. H. Construction
Five repeat construction items vacated for lack of employer coverage
OSHA cited R. H. Construction after observing framing work from a narrow, unsecured forklift-supported platform nearly ten feet above the ground. The workers also lacked cited head, eye, and fall protection, and OSHA alleged that one worker had not received required scaffold training. All five…
Tom Reed Contracting
Default set aside for reconsideration of medical circumstances
An administrative law judge entered a default against Tom Reed Contracting after the company did not file an answer or respond to later orders. The company's owner had timely asked for rescheduling after the first show-cause order because he was receiving treatment for a serious medical condition…
Lake Erie Construction Co.
Vehicle-standard coverage made location-specific and case remanded
A Lake Erie Construction crew was removing highway guardrail posts when a truck-mounted attachment contacted or came close enough to an overhead power line for electricity to travel through the equipment and fatally injure an employee holding a chain. OSHA cited the company for willfully failing to…
Richard Kaposy d/b/a Treeman Landscaping
Case remanded after court vacated Rule 60 relief
An administrative law judge had granted Richard Kaposy relief from a final judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6). The judge found that the self-represented employer had mistakenly understood the consequences of withdrawing its notice of contest after a mandatory settlement…
Affordable Roofing and Exteriors, Inc.
Ladder and repeat roofing violations affirmed by default
OSHA observed eleven Affordable Roofing and Exteriors employees working on a steep gas-station roof in Trenton, Illinois without conventional fall protection. The access ladder did not extend three feet above the roof, the company had stopped conducting required safety inspections, and a one-foot…
Lammon Brothers, LLC
Reverse-alarm citation vacated for lack of audibility proof
Lammon Brothers delivered concrete to an Ohio freeway-repaving project where one of its backing dump trucks struck and killed an employee of the general contractor. The truck's reverse alarm was operating and sounding at the time. OSHA later measured traffic noise and the alarm at different…
Georgia Carolina Stucco, Inc.
Three repeat scaffold violations affirmed
Georgia Carolina Stucco used another contractor's scaffolds while applying stucco to an assisted-living facility in Evans, Georgia. Three employees, including the company's foreman and competent person, worked as high as 20 feet 9 inches on platforms that were not fully planked and had no…
Amanda Bent Bolt Co.
Failure to abate press-wiring violation affirmed
Amanda Bent Bolt manufactured automotive parts with mechanical power presses at its Logan, Ohio facility. A prior settlement required permanent presses that were not frequently moved to be hardwired within 180 days, but a follow-up inspection found that presses still used flexible cords after the…
International Shipbreaking Limited, LLC
Electrical citations vacated under equitable estoppel
International Shipbreaking operated at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. In a written settlement resolving earlier cases, OSHA withdrew the prior citations and gave the company sixty days to implement a comprehensive electrical safety and assured-equipment-grounding program. About two weeks after…
David Stillwell d/b/a David Stillwell Roofing
Roofing citations affirmed after default
OSHA observed David Stillwell and three other individuals installing shingles on a commercial roof in Northport, Alabama without fall protection or eye protection while using pneumatic nail guns. Stillwell argued that he had no employees, but two workers told OSHA they worked for him and the…
Pullman Power, LLC
Controlling-employer claims reinstated and remanded
Pullman Power was a contractor at a West Virginia power-plant construction project where a specialty subcontractor fabricated fiberglass-reinforced plastic liners. OSHA alleged excessive styrene exposure and use of flammable liquid within 50 feet of an ignition source, asserting that Pullman was…
Cooper T. Smith, Inc.
Unsafe cargo-hold access violation affirmed
Cooper T. Smith loaded large sacks from a ship into a barge on the Mississippi River near Darrow, Louisiana. Employees entered the 12-to-14-foot-deep hold by climbing stacked sacks weighing one to two tons instead of using the available extension ladder. A sack shifted while an employee descended…
Mahle Engine Components USA, Inc.
Three lead-standard items vacated for insufficient proof
Mahle Engine Components produced lead-coated steel for automotive parts at its McConnelsville, Ohio facility. OSHA alleged deficient lead housekeeping in a break room, an unclean change room, and failures to provide six-month blood-lead monitoring to certain employees. The judge found the…
MDC Drywall, Inc.
Repeat aerial-lift violation affirmed with reduced penalty
OSHA observed two MDC Drywall employees in an aerial-lift basket about 24 feet above a mall parking lot in Oklahoma City. The foreman wore a harness and lanyard but had not attached it to the lift, while the other employee wore no harness or lanyard. The foreman's knowledge was imputed to the…
GT Tile Loading
Notice of contest held timely and default set aside
An administrative law judge affirmed two serious items and $3,600 in penalties after concluding that GT Tile Loading filed its notice of contest one day late. The Commission recalculated the statutory fifteen-working-day period from the company's December 5, 2014 receipt of the citation. Saturdays…
Larry McMurran, d/b/a Lar's Plumbing, Inc.
Default set aside to examine settlement compliance
An administrative law judge entered default against Lar's Plumbing after the company did not respond to a show-cause order concerning an unfinished settlement agreement. The default affirmed nine serious items and restored the original $12,400 proposed penalty instead of the settlement amount of…
Globe Energy Services, LLC
Stair-rail item affirmed and exit-route item vacated
Globe Energy Services employees used a metal stairway to reach a platform about 20 feet above oil and saltwater tanks at a Henderson, Texas worksite. The stair rails were 40.5 inches high and lacked an intermediate rail, contrary to the general-industry stairway requirements. Globe's field…
Longhorn Service Company
Mixed ruling on well-rig fall and fire hazards
Longhorn Service Company operated a well-servicing rig near Alexander, North Dakota. The judge affirmed serious items involving an unguarded hole in the rig floor, an inadequately guarded open platform, and improperly maintained and inspected fire extinguishers. A repeat stair-railing item was also…
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.