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.
Peacock Timber Company, Inc.
Lockout, respirator, and noise items affirmed
Peacock Timber operated a seven-employee sawmill in Troy, Alabama. The judge affirmed a serious lockout/tagout item because employees serviced multi-energy-source mill equipment without documented machine-specific procedures. An other-than-serious respirator item was affirmed because employees…
Mountain States Contractors, LLC
Willful crane wire-rope violation affirmed
Mountain States Contractors used a crawler crane while building bridges over the Cumberland River in Gallatin, Tennessee. The crane's boom cable snapped on May 21, 2013, causing the boom to collapse onto a highway. Daily and annual inspection records had documented damaged cables, broken wires, and…
Gestamp Alabama, LLC
Lockout citation vacated for lack of hazard exposure proof
Gestamp Alabama manufactured auto parts with a 400-ton mechanical blanking press at its McCalla facility. Operators periodically entered a fenced scrap area to remove rejected metal, normally using a captive-key system that powered down the press before opening the gate. OSHA observed an operator…
The Home Depot #8954
Forklift-light violation reduced from repeat to serious
Home Depot used an electric reach truck to unload trailers at its Dublin, Georgia store after the truck's optional headlights stopped working. The receiving manager knew about the defect for at least a week but kept the truck in service, even though testing showed trailer illumination was below two…
Ramco Erectors, Inc.
Repeat fall-protection item vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A Ramco Erectors employee fell about 28 feet from a building under construction in Spring, Texas and sustained a broken elbow and femur. The employee wore a harness and double lanyard and had proper attachment points available, but a gust lifted insulation and distracted him as he mistakenly…
Brand Energy Solutions LLC
Scaffold housekeeping item vacated under specific-standard preemption
Brand Energy Solutions installed insulation at a Texas refinery after Hurricane Ike damaged existing insulation across a large area. The Commission held that the project was construction work because it was large, complex, nonroutine, and included installation of new insulation. OSHA cited Brand…
Wal-Mart Distribution Center #6016
Site-specific PPE assessment affirmed, three equipment items vacated
Wal-Mart relied on a personal-protective-equipment hazard assessment performed at an Arkansas distribution center as a global assessment for its New Braunfels, Texas facility. The Commission affirmed the hazard-assessment item because Wal-Mart had not verified that conditions at the two locations…
Delek Refining, Ltd.
Four refinery safety items affirmed and two vacated
OSHA cited six conditions at Delek's Texas oil refinery under the process safety management, machine guarding, and hazard communication standards. The Commission affirmed PSM items for failing to resolve process-hazard-analysis and audit findings inherited from the prior owner, holding that the…
Turpin, Inc.
Unprotected excavation violation reduced from willful to serious
A newly hired Turpin employee entered an 8.7-foot excavation in unstable soil to mark grade points before a trench box was installed. The judge found constructive employer knowledge because Turpin rarely inspected jobsites, inadequately trained workers, and showed no credible system for monitoring…
Risa Management Corp.
Default entered after repeated failures to participate
Risa Management contested ten serious and one other-than-serious citation carrying $34,300 in proposed penalties, then entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The judge ruled that the safety-enforcement proceeding was not automatically stayed, although payment of any penalty would remain under the…
Quandel Construction Group, Inc.
Attorney-fee application denied despite citation victory
Quandel prevailed in the underlying case when the judge vacated an aerial-lift fall-protection citation based on unpreventable employee misconduct. It then sought $8,929 in attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge denied the application because OSHA had photographic evidence…
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…
American Made Tires, Inc.
Default affirms repeat, serious, and failure-to-abate penalties
American Made Tires contested repeat and serious citations from a follow-up OSHA inspection, along with a notification that earlier violations remained unabated. The company then missed settlement and prehearing conferences, refused discovery, failed to answer the complaints or show-cause order…
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Crowd-control judge decision vacated after contest withdrawal
OSHA issued a general-duty-clause citation after a Wal-Mart employee was killed in a crowd surge during a 2008 holiday sales event. The chief judge affirmed the serious item and a $7,000 penalty, and the case was directed for Commission review. Wal-Mart then withdrew both its notice of contest and…
All Florida Tree & Landscape, Inc.
Willful power-line violations affirmed after fatal electrocution
Two All Florida employees were cutting branches high in a tree with crane rigging near energized overhead lines when one employee was electrocuted. The judge held that the tree removal was maintenance work governed by general-industry standards, not construction work. A serious crane item was…
Jacobs Field Services North America
Four lockout items vacated for lack of knowledge and applicability proof
A Jacobs employee volunteered to help a chemical-plant operator replace a leaking valve, and a flange failure released about 750 pounds of butylene oxide. The Commission agreed that lockout requirements applied to that valve-replacement work because the release caused burns, chemical pneumonia, and…
Sanderson Farms, Inc.
Two poultry-plant shaft-guarding items affirmed with reduced penalty
OSHA found unguarded rotating shafts on chicken-cutting saws and an unguarded projecting shaft end at a Sanderson Farms processing plant. The judge held that the saw arbor was an integral part of the power-transmission shaft and that the specific guarding standards required physical guards without…
M.A. Mortenson Company
Fire-extinguisher hazard-communication items vacated under consumer-product exception
OSHA cited Mortenson for omitting ten-pound ABC fire extinguishers from its hazardous-chemical list and for not keeping their safety data sheets onsite. The judge found that the extinguishers qualified for the hazard communication standard's consumer-product exception. They were sold for consumer…
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…
Mondo Construction Company, LLC
Trench items affirmed but repeat classification rejected
Mondo employees worked in a utility trench with deep side channels while installing plywood shoring that lacked the braces required by the company's engineering plan. The judge measured the excavation from the channels because they extended to the walls and increased the wall load, making the…
Spirit AeroSystems, Inc.
Vehicle lockout case reinstated because manuals were not incorporated
A Spirit mechanic was killed when a diesel truck moved after he bypassed starter safety switches while standing in the engine compartment. OSHA alleged that Spirit lacked specific written energy-control procedures for vehicle maintenance, but the judge dismissed the case after the Secretary's…
Davis H. Elliot Construction Company, Inc.
Outrigger-pad item affirmed and qualified-worker item vacated
A line worker was injured while transferring energized power lines from an old utility pole to a new one from an aerial-lift bucket. The judge affirmed an outrigger item because the truck's rear outriggers were set on loose garden soil without separate pads, and the electrical-line standard did not…
Southern Pan Services Co.
Parking-garage collapse items remanded under exposing-employer and supervisor-knowledge rules
A parking garage partially collapsed during a concrete pour, killing one Southern Pan employee and injuring another along with more than twenty workers. The Commission held that the construction-load standard applied to the conditions and that Southern Pan, as an exposing employer, could have a…
Polylite Roof Decks, Inc.
Late-contest case remanded for settlement review
An administrative law judge had dismissed Polylite Roof Decks' notice of contest as more than nine months late, leaving a three-item serious citation and $8,400 proposed penalty final. While the matter was before the Commission, the parties filed a stipulated settlement. The Commission treated that…
Florida LeMark Corporation
General-duty citation affirmed for ungrouted garage columns
Four people died and others were injured when part of a precast concrete parking garage under construction collapsed. OSHA cited Florida LeMark, the subcontractor responsible for grouting column bases, for leaving two load-bearing columns ungrouted while construction continued. The judge found that…
DeMouy General Contracting, Inc.
Scaffold fall-protection item affirmed against owner and employee
The owner of DeMouy General Contracting and an employee worked about 20 feet above ground on a pump-jack scaffold without effective fall protection. The judge held that the owner was an employee under the OSH Act while performing construction work for the corporation, despite his belief that owners…
Big Cat, Inc. d/b/a The Rex
Restaurant chemical-safety items affirmed and power-strip item vacated
OSHA cited The Rex restaurant for inadequate eye and hand protection when employees handled corrosive cleaning chemicals, improper use of a power strip for a refrigerator, and the absence of a written hazard communication program. The judge affirmed the PPE items because safety data sheets required…
Stark Excavating, Inc.
One cave-in item held willful, another serious, and eyewear item vacated
OSHA cited Stark Excavating after finding unprotected excavations at two Illinois worksites, improper eyewear at one site, and spoil piles too close to an excavation. The Commission affirmed the Champaign cave-in item as serious because the competent person made an incorrect but not consciously…
Vitakraft Sunseed, Inc.
Housekeeping and warning-sign violations affirmed, general duty item vacated
Vitakraft Sunseed manufactured small-animal products at a facility where its dust collection system deposited agricultural dust into a wagon inside a dust room. OSHA cited accumulated combustible dust, the absence of warning signs, and an alleged general duty clause violation based on fire and…
MB Consultants, Ltd. d/b/a Murray's Chicken
Lockout, guarding, and chemical-training items largely affirmed
Separate safety and health inspections at Murray's Chicken produced lockout, machine-guarding, hazard-communication, and injury-recording citations. The judge affirmed serious lockout items for inadequate machine-specific procedures, deficient periodic inspections, and insufficient…
Nabors Drilling USA, LP
Electrical violations affirmed after fatal electrocution
Nabors Drilling operated an oil and gas drilling rig where a 480-volt cord ran beneath a sharp-edged metal grate outside a change house. The grate pierced the cord, became energized, and an employee was fatally electrocuted. The judge found that reasonable inspections would have revealed damaged…
Academy Roofing Corp.
Fire-extinguisher citation vacated for lack of quantity proof
Academy Roofing employees used flammable cleaner and adhesive while working on a construction-site roof. After a small fire exhausted the available extinguishers, OSHA cited the company under a rule requiring an extinguisher within 50 feet when more than five gallons of flammable or combustible…
Bardav, Inc., d/b/a Martha's Vineyard Mobile Home Park
Willful cave-in violation affirmed after excavation collapse
Bardav employees entered an excavation to repair a leaking water pipe after a plumbing technician warned that the unstable soil required shoring. Water flooded the excavation, its walls collapsed, and two employees were injured. The Commission affirmed a willful cave-in protection violation because…
Ryder Transportation Services
Skylight citation vacated because construction standards applied
Ryder hired an electrical contractor to install circuits, wiring, switches, and other equipment at its vehicle-parts rebuild center. A contractor employee went onto the roof to test exhaust fans, fell through an unguarded skylight, and sustained fatal injuries. OSHA cited Ryder under a general…
United States Postal Service
Recordkeeping citation narrowed under FMLA confidentiality rules
OSHA cited the United States Postal Service for failing to enter two employees' work-related illnesses on required injury and illness forms. For one employee, the only document identifying the illness as work-related was a medical certification submitted for Family and Medical Leave Act leave. The…
United States Postal Service
Willful extreme-heat violation affirmed
A Postal Service letter carrier returned from a five-week absence and delivered mail during an excessive heat warning without an acclimatization period. He reported symptoms to his supervisor on two consecutive days, remained on his route, and died from hyperthermia on the second day. The judge…
Dave's Plumbing, Inc.
Four serious ladder violations affirmed
Dave's Plumbing used an extension ladder to reach a roof at a construction site. The ladder extended only a few inches above the landing, was unsecured near an active doorway, and was climbed by an employee carrying an acetylene tank. The judge also found that the employee had not received…
Heave Ho Crane Company
Default set aside and case remanded
An administrative law judge entered a default against Heave Ho Crane Company after the self-represented employer did not submit a position statement and responded to a show-cause order without an affidavit. The employer maintained that it believed the matter had already been settled or withdrawn…
E.R. Zeiler Excavating, Inc.
Trench violations affirmed as serious, not willful
E.R. Zeiler Excavating had four employees working in an approximately 10-foot-deep trench without an adequate cave-in protection system or safe means of exit. The violations were not disputed on review, but the Secretary sought willful classifications based on the company's prior excavation…
J. Cook Enterprises, Inc.
Fall-protection citations vacated because employment relationship was not proven
OSHA cited J. Cook Enterprises after a residential framing worker fell 11.5 feet and died. The items alleged inadequate jobsite inspections, lack of residential fall protection, and failure to report the fatality within eight hours. The central issue was whether J. Cook Enterprises employed the…
Torre Mackle Group, LLC
Judge's decision vacated after employer withdrew contest
An administrative law judge had affirmed a falling-object citation against Torre Mackle Group after a 29-pound concrete core fell through a ceiling and struck a medical-center employee. The cited item required measures such as barricades to protect employees from falling objects, and the judge…
Dukane Precast, Inc.
Confined-space and delayed-rescue violations affirmed
Dukane Precast manufactured concrete products using large aggregate bins that it had identified as permit-required confined spaces. An employee entered a sand bin, became engulfed up to his neck, and remained trapped while untrained co-workers entered the bin to attempt a rescue. The judge affirmed…
National Electric Coil Co., L.P.
Case remanded for settlement approval
National Electric Coil initially disputed whether an informal settlement agreement signed by its human-resources vice president was enforceable. The administrative law judge found that the representative had actual and apparent authority, rejected the company's attempted unilateral withdrawal, and…
Furmanite America, Inc.
Facility work-rule violation affirmed, training items vacated
Furmanite America installed an isolation plug in a pipeline at a process facility. An employee who was not trained or assigned to that service line attempted to remove the plug, which was forced from the pipe by built-up pressure and caused a serious head injury. The judge vacated the training item…
Professional Grade Construction Group, Inc.
Citations affirmed by default
OSHA issued Professional Grade Construction Group thirteen serious items and two repeat items under the construction standards, with $43,560 in proposed penalties. The company filed a notice of contest but did not answer the Secretary's complaint. A show-cause order sent to the company's record…
Schmitt Tree Experts
Crane-inspection recordkeeping failure affirmed
Schmitt Tree Experts did not contest an earlier citation alleging that required monthly crane-inspection certification records were unavailable. OSHA later issued a failure-to-abate notification after the company still could not produce records of subsequent inspections. The judge found that the…
Alcides Avelar
Late contest dismissed for lack of excusable neglect
OSHA issued Alcides Avelar two serious scaffold-related items with $5,900 in proposed penalties. The citation was received at the company's record address, but the owner was out of town and did not submit a written notice of contest until several weeks after the 15-working-day deadline. The judge…
Peck Brothers, LLC
Roof fall-protection citation vacated
Peck Brothers was replacing a deteriorated gutter and reflashing a low-slope roof at a Home Depot store. OSHA alleged that employees near the roof edge lacked fall protection and cited the general rule for unprotected sides and edges, with the low-slope roofing rule pleaded in the alternative. The…
Levvintre Construction, LLC
Residential fall and ladder violations affirmed
Five Levvintre Construction employees performed residential roofing work on an approximately 11-foot-high roof without fall protection. The company had harnesses available but left it to each employee to decide whether to use one and had no alternative fall-protection plan. Employees also used a…
GP Roofing & Construction, LLC
Willful residential fall violation affirmed
Four GP Roofing employees installed shingles on townhomes while wearing harnesses but remaining untied on roof sections as high as 19.5 feet. The judge rejected claims that fall protection created a greater hazard or was infeasible because the company did not seek a variance, prove the claimed…
G. Santos Masonry, Inc. d/b/a Roberto Santos
Late contest dismissed despite shutdown confusion
OSHA issued G. Santos Masonry ten serious items with $13,600 in proposed penalties. An informal conference was canceled during the 2013 federal government shutdown, and OSHA internally extended the contest deadline but did not notify the company of the new date. The judge recognized that this…
KSP Enterprises, Inc.
Willful excavation violation affirmed
KSP Enterprises had workers in a 6.7-foot-deep excavation with nearly vertical Type B soil walls and no cave-in protection. The company argued that it was a family business without employees, but the judge found that a working co-owner was an employee and that another worker was also an employee…
American Phoenix, Inc.
Combustible-dust citation partly affirmed
American Phoenix manufactured custom rubber compounds using mixers, hoppers, and multiple dust-collection systems. OSHA alleged that combustible dust in the collectors created fire and explosion hazards under the general duty clause. The judge found fire hazards in the Rotoclone, Pre-Weigh, and…
Robinson Masonry
Late contests dismissed
Two OSHA inspections resulted in seventeen serious items and one other-than-serious item against Robinson Masonry, with $22,400 in proposed penalties. The company attended an informal settlement conference but did not reach an agreement and did not submit a written contest within the 15-working-day…
J. Reed Constructors, Inc.
Repeat aerial-lift tie-off violation affirmed
Two J. Reed Constructors employees installed exterior sheeting from an aerial lift about 35 feet above the ground without tying off. The company conceded the violation but disputed knowledge and asserted unpreventable employee misconduct. The judge found constructive knowledge because the condition…
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…
LJC Dismantling Corp.
Overhead-hazard item affirmed, scaffold items vacated
LJC Dismantling employees took apart a rooftop water tank while another employee worked below on a scaffold. A cut metal tank strap swung around, struck the scaffold worker, and caused him to fall to the roof. The Commission vacated an improper-planking item because the scaffold existed only…
CSA Equipment Company, LLC
Forklift-hazard case remanded for abatement analysis
CSA Equipment used forklifts to move large steel coils while checkers worked nearby, and an employee was struck by a forklift and later died from his injuries. An administrative law judge affirmed a general duty clause citation after finding that moving the checking operation to a separate dock…
Copomon Enterprises, LLC
Formaldehyde-label citation barred by prior settlement
Copomon Enterprises distributed hair straightening and smoothing products that could release formaldehyde when heated during use. OSHA cited the company because its product labels did not state that the products contained formaldehyde, even though the labels used exact language negotiated in an…
PM Construction & Rehab, LLC
Trench citation reduced from repeat to serious
PM Construction & Rehab was repairing sewer pipes in Houston when an employee working in an 8- to 9-foot-deep trench was seriously injured by a rock that broke from an unprotected end wall. The company had installed hydraulic shoring along the trench's long walls but had not shored, sloped, or…
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.