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 & A Construction
Soap item vacated, paint safety-data item affirmed
D & A Construction employees performed touch-up painting during airport renovations in Saipan. OSHA cited the company because the nearest restroom's soap dispenser was empty and the worksite lacked the correct material safety data sheet for the industrial enamel paint in use. The judge vacated the…
Jesco, Inc.
Aerial-lift modification item narrowed to clamped beam
Jesco used an aerial lift to move 31-foot, 325-pound ceiling beams at an industrial facility. It secured the first beam to the basket's guardrails with vise clamps, then moved ten later beams by resting them on the guardrails without clamps. The Commission held that the field-modification standard…
D.W. Caldwell, Inc.
Steep-roof fall violation affirmed as serious
D.W. Caldwell employees installed metal panels on a steep roof with an eave 32 feet above the ground. The crew wore harnesses but, with one temporary exception, did not connect them to anchor points, and the foreman knowingly allowed the practice after the general contractor warned him the previous…
Eller-ITO Stevedoring Company, LLC
Ro-Ro struck-by item affirmed
Eller-ITO assigned a longshore gang to unload chassis-mounted cargo containers from a ship at the Port of Miami. A lasher and team leader was struck by a container after signaling the mule operator to move while a rear securing chain remained attached and he was positioned in a narrow walkway…
Mast Climber Manufacturing, Inc., d/b/a American Mast Climbers
Scaffold items split, design violation willful
Mast Climber Manufacturing erected and serviced a mast-climbing work platform on a 21-story construction project. Four contractor employees fell when one side of the platform collapsed, and three died. The judge held that the system was a scaffold, not an aerial lift, because it was not…
Boh Brothers Construction Company, LLC
Rescue-skiff and crane-operation items affirmed
Boh Brothers was constructing bridges over Lake Pontchartrain when a crane tipped on the sloped bridge deck. The operator fell into the lake and later died from his injuries. The Commission held that the company's rescue system could not be expected to reach a worker within the three-to-four-minute…
Cleveland Wrecking Company
Falling-debris case remanded
Cleveland Wrecking was demolishing high-rise buildings in Dallas when a bobcat struck a buried steel beam and dislodged part of an exterior wall. The debris fell into a pit and killed a truck driver and a flagger employed by other companies. The Commission set aside the judge's willful findings and…
Roberts Sand Company, LLLP
Clay-pit highwall violation affirmed
Roberts Sand Company operated an intermittent clay pit with a nearly vertical highwall more than 20 feet high. An equipment operator was working near the wall when it collapsed onto the excavator cab, causing his death. The judge found a recognized collapse hazard and concluded that feasible…
Permabond Construction, Inc.
Default order remanded for review of letters
An administrative law judge entered default against Permabond after it missed a conference call, filed a late notice of contest, and appeared not to respond to an order to show cause. Before the decision was docketed, however, Permabond's pro se representative faxed the judge a letter explaining…
Bryan Martin, d/b/a Terra Reclamation
Demolition fall and survey items affirmed
Terra Reclamation was demolishing a three-story building in New Holland, Pennsylvania. Two workers used an aerial lift about 28 feet high without lanyards or harnesses, and other workers performed demolition near an unprotected upper-floor edge without fall protection. The company also began…
Federal Construction Group
Disqualification motion denied
The Commission remanded the case for the judge to consider Federal Construction Group's motion seeking his disqualification. The company alleged improper ex parte contact because the judge ate lunch with an OSHA compliance officer and the court reporter during the hearing. The judge found that the…
JP Gallagher Electric
Late electrical-citation contest dismissed
OSHA issued JP Gallagher Electric a serious citation with a proposed $2,400 penalty for electrical work on a circuit that was allegedly not locked out or otherwise made inoperative. The company received the citation on October 7, 2011, but did not file its notice of contest by the October 31…
Redline Pipeline, LLC
Trench items affirmed, water and asbestos items vacated
Redline Pipeline was the general contractor for replacement of water lines that likely contained asbestos. Two subcontractor employees entered a roughly 9-to-10-foot-deep trench after its protective box had been removed, although the previously disturbed Type B soil was not properly sloped. The…
Neupauer Masonry, Inc.
Default remanded over unlicensed representative
An administrative law judge dismissed Neupauer Masonry's contest after the company failed to answer the Secretary's complaint or respond to an order to show cause. The default order affirmed three citations and $43,560 in proposed penalties. On review, Neupauer said it had hired Julio Vargas for…
Artemio Gonzalez Exteriors
Citation affirmed after the employer defaulted
Artemio Gonzalez Exteriors did not file an answer to the Secretary of Labor's complaint. The judge issued an order requiring the employer to explain why it should not be declared in default, but the certified mailing was returned unclaimed and unable to forward. The judge found that the employer…
K.E.R. Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Armadillo Underground
Pipe-explosion citation vacated for lack of a recognized hazard
Armadillo Underground installed water-line piping and pressure-tested a completed section while workers tightened bolts to stop a small leak. The pipe exploded, breaking the foreman's legs and causing minor lacerations to three other workers. OSHA alleged that tightening the bolts while the pipe…
KyKenKee, Inc.
Settlement approved after sawmill guarding decision
KyKenKee operated an Alabama sawmill where a worker was fatally struck by a log that fell from a debarker conveyor. An administrative law judge found that the company should have fenced or posted the hazardous area around the ring barker and its conveyors. The judge reduced the violation from…
All American Concrete, Inc.
One excavation citation vacated and one affirmed as serious
All American Concrete was upgrading a storm-water system when an excavator bucket rolled into an excavation and broke an employee's ankle. OSHA cited the contractor for materials or equipment near the excavation edge and for inadequate cave-in protection. The judge vacated the falling-materials…
Lucky Plastering Corporation
Late scaffold contest dismissed
OSHA cited Lucky Plastering for four scaffold violations at a Florida construction site and proposed $12,000 in penalties. The company filed its notice of contest more than seven weeks after the 15-working-day deadline. Its president cited a family emergency, difficulty reading English, reduced…
Custom Built Marine Construction, Inc.
Eye-protection citation affirmed for jackhammer work
Custom Built Marine was renovating a Florida boat ramp when OSHA saw an employee use a jackhammer without eye protection while a supervisor stood nearby, also without eye protection. Two pairs of protective eyewear were available at the site. The judge vacated the item after concluding that the…
Ehle, Inc.
Citations vacated because OSHA did not prove employer status
Ehle owned rental properties and hired contractors to construct its apartment buildings. OSHA observed several people installing roof sheathing without fall protection and issued two serious citation items totaling $1,200. The judge found that OSHA did not prove carpenter Chuck Brandau was an…
Loren Cook Company
Machine-guarding items vacated over standard applicability
Loren Cook manufactured fans and blowers using small manual spinning lathes. A 12-pound metal workpiece was ejected from a lathe and fatally struck an employee in the head. OSHA withdrew three personal-protective-equipment items during the hearing and pursued seven willful machine-guarding items…
International Masonry, Inc.
Scaffold citations produced a mixed result and $4,000 penalty
Three International Masonry employees fell about 37 feet when a scaffold platform supported by a modified corner bracket collapsed. One employee died and another was seriously injured. The Secretary withdrew four items, and the judge vacated allegations involving a damaged bracket, ladder…
LHC, Inc.
Late contest denied after citation remained in company inbox
OSHA issued LHC four serious citation items carrying $10,780 in proposed penalties. The company's president received and signed for the citation, but it remained in his inbox while he tried to gather information from employees working elsewhere in Montana. LHC notified OSHA of its intent to contest…
Wormley Brothers Enterprises, Inc.
Repeat ladder violation affirmed
Wormley Brothers was finishing a flat roof on a Georgia bank project when OSHA observed five employees, including the foreman, use a portable ladder to leave the roof. The roof was about 17 feet high, but the ladder rails extended only 18 inches above the landing instead of the required 3 feet. The…
Twin Pines Construction, Inc./Teles Construction
Six items affirmed by default
OSHA issued Twin Pines Construction/Teles Construction two serious items and four other-than-serious items after a Massachusetts inspection. The allegations involved an obstructed or slippery emergency exit, forklift refresher training, injury and illness records, record production, and forklift…
Q3 Contracting, Inc.
Traffic-control items withdrawn and judge's decision vacated
Q3 Contracting performed underground utility work on a Denver gas pipeline project. An administrative law judge affirmed two serious items involving missing traffic warning signs and noncompliant barricades, and assessed a $750 penalty. The case was directed for Commission review. The Secretary…
Lakeside Construction, L.L.C.
Framing safety violations affirmed
Lakeside Construction had three employees framing an Idaho residence without a supervisor present. One employee worked below roof-framing activity without a protective helmet, while other employees worked about 9 feet above the ground without fall protection. The employees also lacked training to…
TMD Contracting
Workload did not excuse late contest
OSHA issued TMD Contracting two serious items after inspecting a commercial construction project in Albion, New York, and proposed $2,850 in penalties. The company filed its first contest letter two weeks after the deadline. TMD said it was managing two large commercial projects, was unfamiliar…
J4 Welding, Inc.
Contest filed nearly a year late was dismissed
J4 Welding performed mobile welding work at a Florida strip-mall remodeling project where OSHA observed the owner cross from an aerial lift to a building without proper fall protection. OSHA issued three serious items and proposed $9,000 in penalties. The company filed its contest almost a year…
Tricon Industries, Inc.
Steel-erection fall item vacated for lack of exposure
Tricon employees performed steel-deck layout and welding work on a 100-by-65-foot roof deck more than 15 feet above the ground. They were not tied off while working near the center, but the evidence showed that their assigned work kept them about 12 feet from an unguarded edge, with one employee…
Sandy Woodmansee d/b/a S.A.W.S.
Roofing eye and fall protection items affirmed
S.A.W.S. was repairing a Massachusetts residential roof when OSHA found its sole employee using a pneumatic nail gun without eye protection and working on the roof without fall protection. The roof ranged from 6 feet 10 inches to 13 feet above the ground. The nail-gun manual warned of severe eye…
Gabriel Lopez Alvarez, dba Three Amigos
Default vacated for reconsideration of returned mail
A chief administrative law judge dismissed Three Amigos' notice of contest after the employer did not answer the complaint or respond to a show-cause order. The default affirmed two citations carrying $21,120 in proposed penalties. The record showed that the show-cause order and an earlier order…
Federal Construction Group
Case remanded to address alleged ex parte communication
Federal Construction Group faced hazard-communication and lead-compliance citations arising from renovation work at Fort Bragg. An administrative law judge affirmed the items and assessed $6,000 in penalties. In its review petition, the company alleged that the judge had a private lunch…
Bolton Fencing and Construction, LLC
Trench items reduced from willful to serious
Bolton supported oil and gas pipeline work in Colorado and sent two employees into an unprotected excavation with walls between 5 and 8 feet high. The soil was Type B, no sloping, shoring, or trench box was used, and the competent person left the site after directing the employees into the…
ACME Energy Services dba Big Dog Drilling
Rig-floor struck-by citation affirmed
Big Dog Drilling employees were extending an oil rig's telescoping mast when the hydraulic ram failed and large suspended equipment fell onto the rig floor. A driller assigned to watch the mast from the rig floor was fatally struck. The judge vacated OSHA's general duty clause citation, finding…
JLD Custom Carpentry
Business pressures did not excuse late contest
OSHA issued JLD Custom Carpentry five serious items after inspecting residential re-roofing work in Pennsylvania and proposed $18,000 in penalties. The owner's wife received the citation and scheduled an informal conference, but miscommunicated the date and the company missed the conference and…
E.C. Stokes Mechanical Contractor, Inc.
Misplaced citation did not excuse late contest
E.C. Stokes was installing plumbing and air-conditioning systems at a Florida hospital project when OSHA cited two serious oxygen and acetylene cylinder-storage violations. The proposed penalties totaled $4,760. An experienced office employee received the certified citation, scanned it, believed it…
Domino Window Cleaning, Inc.
Fourth-floor fall hazard citation affirmed
A Domino employee cleaning a fourth-floor New York window without fall protection fell 40 feet to the sidewalk and died from his injuries. The evidence showed that he had been working from the exterior ledge and that Domino also instructed employees to clean from an interior sill beside a large…
G.A. Denison & Sons, Inc.
Default set aside because show-cause order arrived late
OSHA issued G.A. Denison & Sons seven serious and five willful citation items with $110,000 in proposed penalties. During mandatory settlement proceedings, the company failed to submit several required filings and financial documents. The judge ordered Denison to show cause by July 23 why it should…
John R. Jurgensen Company
Night paving safety citations vacated
Jurgensen performed nighttime highway paving in Ohio while subcontractor dump trucks backed through a designated work route. A dump truck struck and killed a Jurgensen laborer who had left the crew's immediate work area. OSHA alleged that the contractor lacked an adequate safety program and had not…
Elliot Construction Corp.
Carbon monoxide violations affirmed as willful
Elliot Construction used gas-powered equipment for an indoor concrete pour, and four employees reported feeling ill from carbon monoxide exposure. Two employees were diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. The foreman knew the equipment produced carbon monoxide and recognized the employees'…
Know Thyself Contracting
Residential fall protection and training violations affirmed
Know Thyself Contracting performed residential and commercial construction work in Mobile, Alabama. OSHA observed a five-person crew installing decking near an unprotected edge 24 feet above the ground without fall protection. The company did not dispute the hazardous conditions or lack of…
American Engineering & Development Corp.
Trench citation vacated for employee misconduct
American Engineering & Development was replacing underground utilities in Miami when OSHA found two employees in an excavation more than 5 feet deep without cave-in protection. A backhoe operator temporarily directing the workers had sent them into the trench after the superintendent expressly…
Shaw Global Energy Services, Inc.
Change-house item vacated and mercury recordkeeping violation affirmed
Shaw Global was decommissioning and demolishing a mercury-contaminated cell room at an Alabama chemical plant. OSHA issued eleven serious citation items concerning mercury exposure and one other-than-serious recordkeeping item. The judge affirmed three serious items and the recordkeeping item, but…
Deep South Crane & Rigging Co.
Operator-qualification violations affirmed
Four Deep South employees were fatally injured when a large crane fell backward during assembly at a Texas refinery. The operator had placed the crane in an unstable backwards-overhaul position and left it there for about three hours. The Commission found that Deep South did not give the site…
Roy’s Construction, Inc.
Roofing, respirator, and ladder violations affirmed
Roy’s Construction was repairing the roof of the Legislature Building in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. OSHA saw employees working without fall protection on a steep roof that the site supervisor said was 36 feet high. Employees also wore company-supplied respirators near asbestos-removal work without…
Petro Hunt, LLC
Flame-resistant-clothing citation vacated at oil production site
Petro Hunt operated an oil production facility in North Dakota where a treater shed caught fire shortly after two employees left the site. OSHA cited the company because it did not require employees who gauged tanks and worked around hydrocarbon pressure vessels to wear flame-resistant clothing…
Rock Utility, Inc.
Trench and ladder items affirmed, vest item vacated
Rock Utility was installing a water line in Quincy, Massachusetts, when OSHA inspected a trench that reached 6.3 feet deep. An employee worked in the deeper end of the Type C soil trench without sloping, benching, or a trench box. The judge also found that the company's informal safety discussions…
Align Roofing, LLC
Late notice of contest dismissed
Align Roofing received an OSHA citation on December 16, 2011, making January 9, 2012 the last day to file a written notice of contest. The company had been told before the citation issued that any contest had to be in writing, but it did not send its notice until January 20, eleven days late. The…
Straight Ahead Construction, Inc.
Excavation water and cave-in items vacated
Straight Ahead Construction dug a street excavation in Miami to install drainage structures during intermittent rain. OSHA alleged that employees worked in accumulated water and lacked cave-in protection in an excavation more than 5 feet deep. The judge found no reliable measurement showing that…
Garabar, Inc.
Informal-conference request did not preserve a contest
Garabar, a roofing and general contractor, received two serious OSHA citations with $5,400 in proposed penalties on November 16, 2011. Its written contest deadline was December 8, but it did not submit anything until a December 22 letter requesting more time for an informal conference. The…
NLJ Builders, Inc.
Controlling contractor held responsible for unsafe scaffold
NLJ Builders subcontracted carpentry work at a Florida bank project and supplied the subcontractor with a scaffold owned by NLJ. A subcontractor employee worked about 15 feet above the ground on a platform that was less than half planked, lacked a firm base and guardrails, and had not been erected…
SeaWorld of Florida, LLC
Killer-whale hazard and stairway items affirmed as serious
SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau died after the killer whale Tilikum pulled her into a performance pool during a close-contact interaction. OSHA alleged that trainers faced recognized struck-by and drowning hazards when performing drywork with Tilikum and drywork or waterwork with other killer…
Northern Excavating Co., Inc.
Willful cave-in violations affirmed, training and egress items vacated
Northern Excavating employees worked in a Type C soil excavation that ranged from about 7.5 to 12 feet deep without a trench box, shoring, or adequate sloping. The excavation used prohibited benching, had soil sloughing into it, and sat beside a heavily traveled access road where truck vibrations…
L & L Painting Company, Inc.
Lead-monitoring exception rejected and citation items split
L & L Painting removed lead-based paint from the George Washington Bridge after employees were found to have elevated blood lead levels. The company performed no lead-exposure monitoring on the New York side and argued that monitoring from its earlier New Jersey work qualified under the…
D & D Masonry Services, Inc.
Scaffold violations largely affirmed with reduced penalties
D & D Masonry used a multilevel scaffold for masonry work at a Georgia construction site. OSHA found wide platform gaps, damaged planks, unsecured scaffold legs, missing fall protection and a midrail, and a closed stepladder used as access. The judge affirmed those scaffold and ladder conditions as…
P.J. Spillane Company, Inc.
Respirator and scaffold citation items split
P.J. Spillane employees performed masonry tuck-pointing from scaffolds at a Boston worksite. The judge affirmed a serious respirator-program item after OSHA found a dirty, deteriorated respirator and facial hair that interfered with face seals. A missing safety data sheet for a corrosive cleaner…
Cranesville Block Company, Inc. / Clark Division
Respirator violations affirmed and drowning item vacated
Cranesville manufactured ready mix concrete at its Teall Avenue plant in Syracuse, New York. An employee chipping hardened concrete from a mixer drum was exposed to silica at four times the permissible limit while wearing an organic-vapor cartridge instead of the appropriate particulate filter. The…
National Steel Erection, Inc.
Gas-cylinder barrier violation affirmed
National Steel Erection stored oxygen, acetylene, and propane cylinders on a rack at a Tennessee construction site. The oxygen and acetylene cylinders were adjacent to each other behind a quarter-inch metal partition with one-inch gaps on both sides. The judge found that the partition lacked 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.