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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R&S Roofing, LLC
Fall-protection citation affirmed for workers treated as employees
R&S Roofing used a crew to replace a rubber roof on a one-story commercial building in Ohio. Although the company called the roofers independent contractors, the judge found they were employees because R&S controlled the workplace and the manner and timing of their work, paid them hourly, provided…
Applied Aquatic Management, Inc.
Airboat-collision citation vacated
Applied Aquatic Management used airboats to perform aquatic plant management work in Florida. Two company airboats collided in a blind trail after one operator entered a dead end and turned back, seriously injuring one employee and causing the death of another. OSHA alleged that the company had not…
Western World, Inc.
Theme-park firearms safety citation affirmed
Western World operated Wild West City, a New Jersey theme park where employees used firearms in staged gunfights. An employee was seriously injured when he was shot during a performance after live ammunition had been brought to the worksite. Although the company prohibited live ammunition, it…
All Star Realty Co., Inc.
Roofing and ladder citations vacated for lack of employment relationship
All Star Realty had a contract to demolish a strip mall, where OSHA found two brothers removing metal roofing without fall protection and using an improper ladder. The brothers had previously done odd jobs for All Star's owner, but he told them they could take the roofing only after the building…
All Erection & Crane Rental Corp.
Medical-services and asbestos-survey items vacated
All Erection & Crane Rental supervised temporary workers cleaning debris from a deteriorated building in Cleveland. One worker suffered a head injury when a table leg struck her, and a supervisor offered to take her to a nearby hospital, but she declined. The Commission held that the offer made…
Stewart Electric Co., Inc.
Arc-flash citations vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A Stewart Electric crew leader and helper were severely burned by an arc flash while replacing a circuit breaker inside an energized 480-volt panel at an automobile dealership. The crew leader did not use the two sets of protective equipment supplied at the site and used a non-insulated…
M.V.P. Piping Co., Inc.
Willful trench penalty increased to $22,000
M.V.P. Piping sent two employees into a 6-foot-4-inch-deep excavation with vertical walls and no cave-in protection. The company used gravel backfill, an exit ramp, and spotters as a temporary safety plan, but none of those measures could prevent a potentially fatal collapse. The Commission held…
K.E.R. Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Armadillo Underground
EAJA fees awarded after pipe citation was vacated
Armadillo Underground defended citations arising from a PVC water-pipe explosion that injured four workers. The underlying general duty clause item was vacated because OSHA did not prove that tightening the joint bolts while the line remained pressurized was a recognized hazard, and a separate…
Imperial Aluminum
Furnace-explosion citation vacated
Imperial Aluminum was installing a new rotary furnace when an outside contractor troubleshooting its gas-flow controls allowed natural gas to accumulate and then opened the furnace door while the pilot remained lit. The resulting explosion damaged ductwork and released a fireball, but no employees…
Jesse Remodeling, LLC
Willful scaffold item and three serious items affirmed
Jesse Remodeling employees worked on a 13-foot-high scaffold while filling concrete block cells at a restaurant construction site. The scaffold lacked guardrails, two employees worked from its frame and cross braces, and employees used cross braces and uprights to descend. A concrete Grout Hog…
Basic Grain Products, Inc.
Lockout violations affirmed with one item reduced to serious
Basic Grain Products made snack foods using conveyors, augers, drums, ovens, and packaging equipment at its Ohio facility. Production employees cleaned moving or improperly locked-out machinery without receiving the lockout/tagout training or tools required for employees who perform servicing work…
Michael Buckly
Roofing citations affirmed by default
OSHA cited Michael Buckly after observing one employee removing shingles from a three-story roof without fall protection and another cleaning debris below without a protective helmet. After filing a notice of contest, Buckly did not file an answer, return the Secretary's calls, participate in the…
Tire Centers, LLC
Tire-rim trajectory citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A Tire Centers technician died when a large off-road tire and multi-piece rim exploded while he was working alone at the company's Alabama service center. The evidence showed that he was inside the rim-component trajectory zone, contrary to a clear company rule. The judge found that Tire Centers…
Delta Elevator Service Corp., d/b/a Delta Beckwith Elevator Co.
Electrical PPE citation vacated because construction standards applied
Delta Elevator Service was hired by a demolition project's general contractor to operate a building elevator so workers and materials could move between floors. OSHA cited Delta under a general-industry electrical PPE standard after mechanics performed diagnostic and operating work on the elevator…
Stevers Roof Side Remodel, LTD
Repeat fall-protection citation affirmed
Stevers Roof Side Remodel used temporary workers to reroof a two-story Ohio home with a steep roof and an 11-foot eave height. OSHA observed three workers on the roof without attaching the available personal fall arrest systems. The company argued that the workers were on break, but the judge held…
Cargill, Inc.
Grain-bin and rescue-service citations vacated
Cargill operated a large grain elevator complex in Topeka, Kansas, where trained crews manually removed stable residual grain left in flat-bottom bins after gravity unloading ended. The judge found that employees were not “on moving grain” because the residual pile had no draw-off point beneath it…
Arc Erecting, Inc.
Access, crane, and welding citations affirmed
Arc Erecting was the structural steel subcontractor on a Maine arena project. Employees climbed to the top of steel joists about 10 feet above the ground without a ladder, and a crane operated near a power line without the required marked work-zone boundary and elevated warning line. A welder also…
Toby Bell d/b/a South Texas Pigeon Removal
Late contest dismissed despite employer-status defense
OSHA issued Toby Bell d/b/a South Texas Pigeon Removal a serious citation with a proposed $2,800 penalty. Bell personally received the citation, which clearly stated the 15-working-day contest deadline, but did not submit a contest until after the deadline. Bell later asserted that the exposed…
Roofing Concepts Unlimited/Florida, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after citation was misplaced
OSHA mailed Roofing Concepts Unlimited/Florida a citation proposing $24,640 in penalties after inspecting a condominium roofing project. The company's receptionist signed for the certified mailing, but the citation was misplaced and management did not learn of it until after the 15-working-day…
Manhattan Construction "Florida", Inc
Falling-object citation vacated after shoring accident
Manhattan Construction managed a Florida resort project where crane chains unexpectedly caught a concrete subcontractor's shoring scaffold, tipped it, and sent aluminum beams from the seventh floor to the entrance below, injuring two subcontractor employees. Manhattan controlled the multi-employer…
E.C. Concrete, Inc.
Four construction-safety items vacated after shoring accident
E.C. Concrete was erecting shoring on the seventh floor of a Florida resort project when crane chains unexpectedly caught a scaffold brace, tipped the scaffold, and sent aluminum beams to the ground, injuring two employees. OSHA withdrew one fall-protection item and pursued allegations involving an…
Monroe Drywall Construction, Inc.
Serious-item penalties increased to $6,300
Monroe Drywall employees worked near exposed energized wires at a Florida construction site where a worker died after contacting the electrical hazard. The affirmed violations involved failure to train employees to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions and failure to determine the status of exposed…
Quinlan Enterprises
Fall and ladder items remanded for employment and knowledge findings
Two workers associated with Quinlan Enterprises installed embedded angles at a Georgia school project without tying off and used a closed, unsecured stepladder for access. The judge affirmed serious fall-protection and ladder items but addressed only in a footnote Quinlan's claim that the workers…
CentiMark Corporation
Roof structural-integrity citation affirmed after fatal fall
CentiMark employees replaced a damaged concrete roof panel at a steel facility with a roof more than 60 feet above the factory floor. After the panel was removed, adjacent panels showed missing and crumbling concrete and exposed reinforcing steel, but CentiMark did not conduct a closer inspection…
Jim Boyd Construction, Inc.
Excavation case remanded under ComTran knowledge rule
Jim Boyd Construction installed trench shields for a Georgia natural-gas project where another contractor's employees worked in the excavation. An administrative law judge vacated two shield items, affirmed a lateral-movement item as serious, and reduced a cave-in protection item from willful to…
ComTran Group, Inc.
Trench case remanded after supervisor-knowledge ruling
ComTran's project manager entered a 6-foot-deep excavation without cave-in protection after placing a 5-foot spoil pile at its edge. An administrative law judge affirmed serious excavation and spoil-pile violations by imputing the project manager's knowledge of his own conduct to the company. The…
Absolute Roofing & Construction, Inc.
Four scaffold and fall-protection items affirmed
Absolute Roofing's worker repaired a steep church roof without fall protection above a scaffold that lacked base plates and guardrails. The judge treated Absolute Roofing and Absolute Exteriors as a single employer because they shared ownership, management, an office, employees, work, and their…
Doyle K. Beckham d/b/a DKB Construction
PPE payment item reduced and forklift tire item vacated
DKB Construction performed framing, roofing, and carpentry work at an assisted-living project on the Hopi Indian Reservation. Its written policy required employees to supply and maintain basic personal protective equipment, and the evidence showed that workers paid for items such as hard hats and…
Valcourt Building Services of Georgia, LLC
Window-cleaning citations vacated because franchisee was the employer
A Valcourt franchisee used rope-descent equipment to clean exterior windows on a high-rise building. OSHA cited Valcourt after observing that each worker's safety line and working line shared an anchorage point and that the safety line allegedly could not safely suspend a worker after a fall. The…
Performance Contracting, Inc., dba PCI
Three scaffold items affirmed as other-than-serious
Performance Contracting installed exterior insulation from a multilevel scaffold at a casino construction project. An opening below the scaffold was not barricaded, and the scaffold lacked interior toe boards in an area where smaller tools and materials could fall. The judge found employee exposure…
Safway Scaffolding d/b/a Safway Services, LP
Untrained scaffold dismantler item affirmed after fall
Safway erected and dismantled extensive scaffolding inside an aircraft hangar. A ground-crew laborer without scaffold-dismantling training was allowed by his crew leader to join the dismantling work, then fell about 21 feet after tying off to a horizontal bar that dislodged. The judge found the…
C & C Roofing
Late contest dismissed and $2,000 citation affirmed
OSHA issued C & C Roofing one serious citation with a proposed $2,000 penalty after inspecting a Colorado Springs worksite. The company filed its notice of contest 48 days late. It did not respond to the Secretary's dismissal motion or the judge's order to show cause, and it offered no basis for…
Stoltzfus Welding & Rentals, LLC
Late contest relief denied
OSHA issued Stoltzfus Welding & Rentals two serious citations and one repeat citation with proposed penalties totaling $8,360. The employer argued that it missed the contest deadline because an OSHA letter said no citation would be issued for one item. The judge found that the actual citations…
Professional Directional, Ltd.
Settlement order set aside for correction
Professional Directional agreed to withdraw its contest of five citation items and pay a reduced penalty of $13,600. After the judge approved the settlement, the Secretary reported that one sentence mistakenly said the employer "did ensure" safety data sheets were available when the agreement…
Penney's Construction Company, LLC
Willful trench violations affirmed after work continued
Penney's Construction replaced a sewer line in a 10-foot-deep trench with vertical, fissured walls and no cave-in protection. Employees also encountered flowing sewage, possible atmospheric hazards, an edge-side spoil pile, unprotected use of a cut saw, and public traffic without high-visibility…
Sunland Construction, Inc.
Trench egress item affirmed and cave-in item vacated
Sunland Construction employees installed sandbag trench breaks around a high-pressure gas pipeline. They worked in a trench more than five feet deep without a ladder, stairway, or ramp, and Sunland did not show that climbing over the pipe and sandbags provided safe egress. The judge affirmed the…
Miller Construction Co.
Four-month-late contest dismissed
OSHA issued Miller Construction two serious citations with a combined proposed penalty of $4,000. Delivery records showed that the company received the citations, which clearly stated the 15-working-day contest deadline. The company waited after receiving both the citations and a later collection…
Basic Marine, Inc.
Most shipyard citations affirmed
Basic Marine performed shipbuilding and repair work involving confined spaces, hazardous coatings, forklifts, cranes, lifting equipment, and work on barges and a pier. The judge affirmed nearly all contested items, including violations involving confined-space testing and rescue, respiratory…
Bellco Glass, Inc.
Late contests dismissed in consolidated cases
OSHA issued separate health and safety citations to Bellco Glass after inspecting its New Jersey facility. The company did not submit a written notice of contest within 15 working days and filed its request for a hearing eleven weeks after the deadline. Despite several extensions and opportunities…
Barlament Erection Crane Rentals
Crane tag, latch, and inspection items affirmed
Barlament used a truck-mounted crane to hoist bundled wooden roof trusses at a residential construction site. Its fabricated chain sling lacked the required capacity and manufacturer tag, the hoist hook's self-closing latch had been intentionally removed, and its monthly and annual inspection…
Applied Masonry, Inc.
Repeat scaffold access and planking items affirmed
Applied Masonry used fabricated-frame scaffolds while renovating a city courthouse. An employee climbed cross braces to reach an upper platform and walked across platforms that were not fully planked. The judge rejected the company's claim that the scaffold was being dismantled because the employee…
Subzero Technologies, Inc.
Late contest relief denied
OSHA issued Subzero Technologies twenty-one serious and two other-than-serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $37,800. The company missed the 15-working-day contest deadline, contacted OSHA only after receiving a payment demand, and then waited several more months before asking the…
Duraframe Dipnet
Contest dismissed after repeated procedural defaults
OSHA cited Duraframe Dipnet for sixteen serious, three repeat, and one other-than-serious violation, with proposed penalties totaling $71,400. The employer timely contested but then failed to answer discovery, comply with multiple orders, attend the final pretrial conference, respond to a sanctions…
Gipson-Ricketts, LLC
Lead protection items affirmed for shooting-range recovery work
Gipson-Ricketts recovered lead shot from a shooting range by screening dry, dusty topsoil. The judge treated the work as general industry rather than construction because the company's primary activity was collecting lead and returning the soil, not permanently changing the site. Employees used…
Everclear Enterprises, Inc.
High-rise window-washing citations vacated
Everclear employees washed high-rise windows while connected to independent fall-restraint or fall-arrest systems. OSHA alleged that workers had to secure themselves within the seatboard before suspension and that ropes needed specific permanent markings. The judge found that the seatboard and…
Progressive Interest, Inc.
Late contest dismissed over mail-handling failure
Progressive Interest received an OSHA citation while the employee responsible for mail was outside the country. Its backup employee signed for the certified mail and left it unopened on the responsible employee's desk, following the company's existing procedure. The employee returned two days…
Georgia Power Company
Existing-conditions citation vacated after line-repair fatality
A Georgia Power crew responded to repair a 7,200-volt distribution line downed during a thunderstorm. The line later moved close to an energized jumper, became energized, and a journeyman lineman was electrocuted. The cited standard required a reasonable evaluation of existing safety conditions…
Digco Utility Construction
Repeat excavation items vacated
Digco excavated to locate a gas line when an OSHA officer saw the top of a worker's hard hat from the road. By the time the officer reached the site, the foreman had deepened the excavation to 6½ feet, but no employee was inside it. The judge credited testimony that the worker had entered only…
Hayward Baker, Inc.
Drill pinch-point and training items affirmed
Hayward Baker employees loaded steel casing onto a drill shaft while installing soil nails for a retaining wall. When a casing was difficult to align, the shaft moved as an employee handled it, catching and crushing his hand at an unguarded pinch point. The judge found that moving the shaft while…
AIC Marianas, Inc.
Raised bucket and worn tire items affirmed
AIC Marianas replaced a water line beside a roadway in Saipan. A parked backhoe had its rear bucket suspended above the ground without adequate blocking, leaving nearby workers exposed if the hydraulic system failed. A dump truck also had an outer rear tire with no tread and visible cracking, and…
Teddy Mosley Painting
Roof fall-protection and ladder items affirmed
Teddy Mosley Painting employees performed roofing work on a steep roof almost eight feet above the ground without fall protection. The ladders did not reach the roof edge or extend three feet above it, and the foreman descended by stepping on the top step while facing away from the ladder. The…
Brocato Construction, Inc.
Trench citations affirmed by default
OSHA cited Brocato Construction at two Mississippi worksites for employees working in excavations without cave-in protection and, at one site, without safe egress. The company timely contested but did not answer discovery, attend scheduled conferences, respond to orders, claim certified mail, or…
Hubbard Construction
Repeat trench cave-in item affirmed
Hubbard Construction installed storm-water pipe in a trench beside a heavily traveled highway. After the crew encountered a utility line, the foreman removed the trench box and directed two employees to work for several minutes in a six-foot-deep Type C excavation with slopes steeper than…
Manson Mowat, A Joint Venture
Barge hoist citation vacated after fatal equipment failure
Manson Mowat used a three-drum hoist to raise and lower the heavy spuds that held a construction barge in place. A ratchet wheel broke apart while a spud was being lowered, striking and killing the operator. OSHA alleged that the middle drum improperly lacked an automatic pawl release and that an…
Cranesville Block Co.
Review withdrawn and judge's ruling made final
The judge decided three consolidated dockets involving related Cranesville companies. The Secretary petitioned for Commission review only of issues in two companion dockets, not docket 10-0447. The Commission therefore severed 10-0447 and vacated its direction for review of that case. The judge's…
Monroe Drywall Construction, Inc.
Employer finding reversed and citations remanded
A drywall worker was electrocuted after contacting exposed wiring at a retail-store renovation. The judge vacated the citations because he found OSHA had not proved that Monroe Drywall employed the workers performing the drywall work. The Commission held that the judge improperly discounted worker…
Otis Elevator Company
Lockout coordination item affirmed
An Otis mechanic injured his hand while unjamming a freight-elevator gate at a department store. The Commission held that the lockout/tagout standard applied because the jammed gate stored gravitational energy that could release unexpectedly during servicing, even though the mechanic expected the…
Greenwood Industries, Inc.
Hoist-area fall citation vacated
Greenwood employees handed sheet metal from the ground to coworkers on an approximately 11-foot-high roof. One worker fell while walking back toward the roof edge. The judge found that the cited hoist-area standard did not apply because the crew used no crane, winch, or other mechanical lifting…
Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor
Trench violations affirmed with $5,000 penalty
Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor excavated a trench for water and sewer work. An employee entered the 5.6-foot-deep trench without a ladder, cave-in protection, or the required setback between the spoil pile and trench edge. The judge credited the compliance officer's testimony and photographs…
AR Medical LLC d/b/a San Pablo Medical Clinic
Late contest dismissed
OSHA cited San Pablo Medical Clinic for three serious violations and one other-than-serious violation after inspecting its Dalton, Georgia facility. The clinic received the citations on April 27, 2012, but did not file its notice of contest until September 6, 2012. In response to an order to show…
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.