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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Allied Structural Steel Co.
Bridge fall-protection violations affirmed
Allied Structural Steel employees worked on a Mississippi River bridge at elevations about 80 feet above a concrete deck and 100 feet above the water. Several employees lacked safety nets, belts, scaffolds, catch platforms, or comparable fall protection, and employees moved between elevations by…
John F. Beasley Construction Company
Bridge-construction violations affirmed
John F. Beasley Construction erected structural steel for an interstate bridge over the Mississippi River. OSHA cited long single-cleat ladders, uncertified lifting equipment, ironworkers working more than 50 feet above land and water without fall protection, and a girder released from its hoisting…
Ron M. Fiegen, Inc.
Safety-net citation vacated and crane items affirmed
Ron M. Fiegen performed structural-steel work at a university construction site where an OSHA inspector observed employees on a temporary roof and suspended scaffold. The Commission upheld the inspection because the inspector had presented credentials to the general contractor, viewed the…
Painting Unlimited, Inc.
Unsafe access upheld, ladder side-rail item vacated
Painting Unlimited was spray-painting bridge girders from a scaffold more than 40 feet above the ground. Employees had to hoist themselves about four feet from the scaffold to the girder because no suitable ladder, stairway, ramp, or runway provided safe access. The Commission affirmed that access…
Industrial Steel Erectors, Inc.
Tie-off citation vacated because compliance increased danger
Industrial Steel Erectors was dismantling a steel structure while two experienced employees removed the last bolts and pins holding a truss 30 to 35 feet above ground. The workers normally used a protected cage and lanyards, but refused to tie off for the final release because the truss could…
Mississippi Valley Erection Co. of Tennessee
Lifeline item reinstated but final order is missing
Mississippi Valley Erection received multiple citations involving float scaffolds, fall protection, temporary flooring, ladders, ropes, planking, air hoses, welding, and safety nets during structural steel work. The Commission held that an air-hose item had become a final order because the company…
Hersman Construction Co.
Three guarding violations affirmed and failure-to-abate penalties rejected
Hersman Construction received citations covering fall protection, floor and stair guarding, debris disposal, citation posting, and housekeeping at a building project. The judge found that OSHA proved only two open-sided-floor guarding violations and one inadequately covered floor opening. He…
The Verne-Woodrow Company
Access citation affirmed and safety-net item vacated
Verne-Woodrow employees erected steel framing and installed roof-truss bracing about 28 feet above ground and over a concrete pit. They used no safety nets, scaffolds, catch platforms, temporary floors, safety lines, or safety belts. The administrative law judge nevertheless vacated the safety-net…
B & J Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Guardrail item affirmed and safety-net item vacated
B & J Mechanical Contractors installed plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning equipment at a construction project in Alabama. OSHA cited the company after one employee worked about 30 feet above the ground without fall protection and another worked from a 13-foot-high platform without guardrails…
Drake-Willamette Joint Ventures
Bridge safety-net citation vacated
Drake-Willamette constructed an approach to the Fremont Bridge in Portland, Oregon. OSHA cited the company for failing to provide safety nets where employees worked more than 25 feet above lower surfaces and proposed a $15 penalty. The Commission read the cited rule to require nets only when listed…
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.