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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S & F Concrete Contractors
Cord item reduced, guardrail violation affirmed
S & F Concrete Contractors was placing concrete at a multistory hospital construction project in Boston. The judge affirmed an electrical-cord violation but reclassified it as other-than-serious because the exposed color-coded conductors were not cut, frayed, or a shock hazard in the condition…
CB&I Constructors, Inc.
Competent-person inspection violation affirmed
CB&I Constructors was erecting a 180-foot water tower in Illinois when an employee fell from a fixed ladder and died. The contested item alleged that designated competent persons failed to make frequent and regular inspections that would have discovered the absence of a required ladder safety…
S.A. Storer and Sons, Co.
Court-directed scaffold remand ordered
The D.C. Circuit vacated part of the Commission's earlier order concerning scaffold fall protection at two work areas. The court affirmed the violation at the materials-staging area but vacated it at the window-opening area. The Commission remanded the case to the ALJ with directions to enter those…
Thomann Asphalt Paving Corp.
Roller rollover citation vacated
A Thomann Asphalt Paving employee died when a roller without a rollover protective structure slid from an embankment and overturned at a New York school construction site. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause, alleging that a rollover protective structure was a feasible way to…
Central Building & Preservation, L.P.
High-rise fall-protection violation affirmed
Central Building & Preservation assigned two employees to mix mortar and stage materials on the 24th floor of a Chicago building. They worked within a foot of parapets as low as 15 to 17 inches without a guardrail, safety net, or personal fall arrest system. The company admitted technical…
Sturm Ruger & Co., Pine Tree Castings Division
Targeted inspection and settlements affirmed
OSHA used injury and illness data from Pine Tree Castings to select the handgun-casting facility for a programmed inspection under a nationwide targeting plan. Sturm Ruger challenged the data survey, inspection warrant, discovery rulings, evidence, and subpoenas. The Commission held that OSHA had…
Danica Plumbing and Heating, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after default
OSHA issued Danica Plumbing and Heating a serious citation after inspecting a Bronx worksite. The company received the remailed citation but did not submit its notice of contest within the 15-working-day deadline. It then failed to appear for the hearing on the late filing even though the Secretary…
G. A. West & Company, Inc.
Unsecured raised-load violation affirmed
G. A. West employees used a hydraulic jack while preparing a 41,000-pound paper-machine roll for shipment at an Alabama demolition site. The roll was not cribbed, blocked, or otherwise secured before employees tried to remove a dolly beneath it, and it fell and fatally injured one employee. The…
Techno Coatings
Lead-abatement citations split
Techno Coatings removed lead-based paint at a naval pier in San Diego. The judge found that the company lacked a valid initial exposure assessment because its historical data came from different bridge locations and did not reliably match the current work. OSHA's own air samples did not credibly…
Universal Maritime Service Corp. APM Terminal
Container fall-protection citations vacated
A longshoreman died after a crane unexpectedly lifted a container while he was on top detaching auxiliary lifting hooks. OSHA cited Universal Maritime for unsafe access to the container and failure to protect the employee from fall hazards while on top. The cited marine-terminal rules depended on…
Staz-On Roofing, Inc.
Partial attorney-fee award granted
OSHA withdrew a fall-hazard training item against Staz-On Roofing at the start of the merits hearing, and the employer sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge found Staz-On eligible and a prevailing party on the withdrawn item. He held that the Secretary…
Well Rise Fashion
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA issued Well Rise Fashion serious and non-serious citations after inspecting its New York worksite. The company responded more than two months after the 15-working-day contest period had expired and asked for reconsideration and lower penalties. The judge found no deception by the Secretary…
Lourdes Hospital
Bloodborne items vacated, lockout items affirmed
OSHA cited Lourdes Hospital for operating-room practices under the bloodborne-pathogens standard and maintenance procedures under the lockout/tagout standard. The judge found that Lourdes' neutral-zone policy, including a limited exception for hand-to-hand sharps transfers, satisfied the…
Pennsylvania American Water
Withdrawal order set aside and remanded
The Secretary withdrew a citation against Pennsylvania American Water and told the ALJ that the employer had agreed to take specified actions. After the ALJ entered an order reflecting that notice, the employer petitioned for review and said it had not agreed to those actions. The parties jointly…
Structural Building Systems, Inc.
Steel-erection fall violation affirmed
Structural Building Systems supplied a steel-erection crew for a new Ohio middle school. A foreman and an employee moved a heavy steel tube about 20 feet above a concrete floor without tying off, and the employee fell and sustained serious injuries. The judge rejected the company's unpreventable…
Western National Construction
Late contest dismissed after nonappearance
Western National Construction received an OSHA citation but did not contest it before the deadline, so it became a final Commission order. Months later, a safety representative asked to file late, stating only that the citation had not reached the appropriate person and had fallen through the…
Stuck in the Mud
Scaffold violations affirmed after jurisdiction challenge
Thomas Slingluff, doing business as Stuck in the Mud, performed stucco work from an inadequately protected scaffold in Colorado. He admitted the scaffold conditions but argued that he was not an employer engaged in commerce and therefore was outside the OSH Act. The judge found that Slingluff hired…
Spirit Homes, Inc.
Hardhat violation reduced from willful to serious
Employees at Spirit Homes worked below mobile-home roofs and scaffolds without hardhats while other employees used tools and materials overhead. The Commission agreed that the company violated the protective-helmet standard but reversed the ALJ's willful characterization. After an earlier citation…
Lanzo Construction Co., Inc
Diving and excavation violations reclassified as willful
Lanzo Construction installed large sewer pipe in a water-filled excavation using a surface-supplied diver. The Commission rejected Lanzo's request for dismissal based on the Secretary's counsel communicating with the diver, finding the record did not establish an ethical violation warranting…
Hercules, Inc., & Alliant Techsystems, Inc.
Explosion-hazard failure-to-abate notice vacated
Hercules had previously settled general-duty citations concerning explosion hazards at an explosives facility and agreed to abate them. OSHA later alleged that hazards remained at a loop road and a control building for 440 days and proposed $3.08 million in failure-to-abate penalties. The ALJ…
PAR Electrical Contractors, Inc.
Repeat energized-line violation affirmed
Two journeyman linemen worked from an aerial-lift bucket near a 12,470-volt conductor without insulating gloves, and one was electrocuted while the other sustained burns. The Commission found that the employees breached the required two-foot approach distance while maneuvering a heavy new conductor…
Westar Energy
Electrical citation vacated for unpreventable misconduct
A Westar Energy apprentice was electrocuted after entering the minimum approach distance of an energized transformer compartment without the required high-voltage rubber gloves. The company did not dispute the unsafe condition or that the foreman was present, but asserted unpreventable employee…
Gillette Masonry, Inc.
Unopposed late contest dismissed
OSHA issued Gillette Masonry serious and other-than-serious citations with a $500 penalty after inspecting its Pennsylvania workplace. The company submitted its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline. The Secretary moved to dismiss the late filing, and the employer filed no response…
Wal-Mart Super Center
Repeat blocked-egress violation affirmed
Boxes, pallets, a forklift, and a conveyor system obstructed routes to the designated emergency exit in a Wal-Mart stockroom during the holiday receiving season. The judge found that three of four aisles were completely blocked and that employees beyond the conveyor could not make full and instant…
Marine Propulsion Services, Inc.
Lathe item affirmed, milling-machine item vacated
Marine Propulsion Services operated a mobile machine shop at a Portland ship-repair site. The judge found that an unguarded lathe chuck exposed the machinist to rotating jaws and surfaces that could catch clothing, rags, hair, or fingers, and that an available transparent barrier guard was…
RK Hydro-Vac, Inc.
Roof-edge fall violation affirmed
An RK Hydro-Vac employee leaned over the unprotected edge of a 30-foot roof without tying off after returning from lunch. The company had adequate written fall-protection rules, supplied each worker with equipment, and provided extensive initial and twice-yearly training. The judge nevertheless…
Arby Construction Company
Trench cave-in violation affirmed
Three Arby Construction employees worked in a six-foot-deep, vertical-sided Type B soil trench without sloping, shoring, or a trench box. The judge rejected the foreman's claim that he believed the trench was under five feet deep, finding the condition obvious from his position directly above the…
Artistic Enterprises, Inc.
Five scaffold and hard-hat violations affirmed
Two stucco workers used a two-level scaffold without hard hats, full planking, safe ladder access, fall protection, or toeboards at an Alabama hotel project. Artistic Enterprises argued that another company employed the workers, but the judge rejected that claim based on the workers' statements…
Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, Inc.
Temporary-worker violations affirmed as non-willful
Froedtert used temporary-agency housekeepers who were exposed to bloodborne-pathogen and chemical hazards at the hospital. The Commission held that Froedtert was their common-law employer because it controlled their assignments, daily activities, tools, work location, and performance, even though…
Simon Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc.
Late contest dismissed for deficient mail handling
A temporary employee signed for Simon Roofing's OSHA citation, but the document was misplaced and did not reach the corporate safety manager until months after the contest deadline. The judge held that businesses must maintain orderly procedures for handling important documents and that employee…
Vandervoort's Dairy Foods Company
Lockout/tagout training citation vacated
Vandervoort's Dairy Foods Company distributed dairy products and fruit drinks at a Fort Worth plant where an employee died after being caught in a depalletizer. OSHA cited the company for inadequate training under the lockout/tagout standard. The judge found the cited standard inapplicable to the…
McLeod Land Services, Inc.
Four serious trench violations affirmed
McLeod Land Services installed underground drainage pipe at a retirement-community construction project in Sarasota, Florida. Two employees worked in a trench while an excavator's tracks extended over its unsupported vertical end wall. The judge found that McLeod did not adequately train its…
Randalls Food and Drugs, Inc.
Ammonia process-safety violations split
Randalls Food and Drugs operated a Houston food warehouse with an anhydrous-ammonia refrigeration system. The judge affirmed a process-safety violation because Randalls did not timely complete, document, and communicate actions responding to its process-hazard analysis. He also affirmed…
Schimenti Construction Co.
Citations affirmed after contest abandoned
OSHA cited Schimenti Construction after inspecting a Hartsdale, New York worksite. The company did not appear for a telephone prehearing conference or respond to requests from the Secretary or the Commission. The judge found that Schimenti abandoned its contest and affirmed two serious electrical…
McWane, Inc. Dba Atlantic States Cast Iron & Pipe
Abatement petitions resolved
McWane filed two petitions seeking modification of OSHA abatement requirements. After negotiations, the company withdrew its requests concerning several citation items in both dockets. The judge granted the remaining request in docket 03-1450, adjusting the abatement date for Citation 2, Item 2 to…
MJP Construction Co., Inc.
Citations affirmed after case abandoned
OSHA cited MJP Construction after inspecting a Hoboken, New Jersey worksite. MJP's counsel reported that the company had gone out of business and would no longer defend the case. The judge treated the complaint's allegations as admitted and affirmed a serious stairway violation with a $2,000…
Sanderson Farms, Inc. (Processing Division)
Party name corrected in settlement order
Sanderson Farms and the Secretary settled a contested serious citation. The settlement vacated, reclassified, amended, and affirmed citation items according to the parties' stipulation, assessed a $250 penalty, and allowed the company to withdraw its contest. The Commission directed review to…
Noble Drilling, Inc.
OSHA jurisdiction upheld, citations vacated
Noble Drilling was converting an offshore drilling unit at a Mississippi shipyard after surrendering its Coast Guard certificate of inspection. An electronics technician died after attempting to descend structural supports inside a disabled elevator shaft, and OSHA cited fixed-ladder, illumination…
Galluzzo Equipment & Excavating, Inc.
Most excavation violations affirmed
Galluzzo Equipment & Excavating installed a concrete catch basin and pipe in a street excavation in Lodi, New Jersey. The judge affirmed serious violations involving trench-safety training, the lack of a competent person, missing hard hats, an unsecured pneumatic-hose coupling, an unprotected spoil…
ConAgra Beef Company
Platform fall-protection citation vacated
ConAgra Beef Company used mechanized platforms to split suspended beef carcasses at its Cactus, Texas plant. OSHA alleged that employees on three platforms lacked fall protection, and two compliance officers testified that they saw one employee working without using the provided tether. The judge…
Kit Carson Apartments, LLC; Helten Enterprises, LLC; and Ronald Helten
EAJA fee request denied
Kit Carson Apartments sought $55,065 in attorney fees and $1,091.62 in expenses after the underlying asbestos case was dismissed against it under a settlement identifying Helten Enterprises as the employer. The judge found that Kit Carson Apartments was eligible for an award and was a prevailing…
Belrose Fire Supression, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed
OSHA mailed Belrose Fire Suppression a citation that the company received on November 25, 2002. Belrose did not file its notice of contest by the December 17 deadline and instead filed on January 28, 2003. The judge found that OSHA used proper certified-mail procedures and that the citation itself…
N. Picco & Sons Contracting Co., Inc.
Scaffold and housekeeping violations affirmed
N. Picco & Sons was constructing a three-story addition to a school in Bronxville, New York. OSHA observed two employees working 36 and 42 feet above ground on a scaffold with improper fall-arrest anchorage, incomplete planking, an excessive gap from the building, and no suitable access. The judge…
New River Electrical Corp.
Energized-line clearance citations vacated
New River Electrical was installing energized utility lines in Ohio when an experienced journeyman lineman died after his bare hand held a grounded neutral line and his upper body contacted an energized metal fitting. OSHA cited two electrical-clearance provisions. The judge held that the…
Phillips Getschow Co.
Hoist training and overload violations affirmed
Phillips Getschow was removing a 4,860-pound coal-crusher cage at an Illinois power plant with an overhead hoist rated for 4,000 pounds. The cage fell from the support and pinned a millwright against a wall, causing fatal injuries. The judge found that the company had not adequately trained every…
American Steel Erectors
Lifeline abrasion item affirmed, training item vacated
American Steel Erectors was installing roof decking at the Omaha Convention Center when an employee fell through an opening and his retractable lifeline abraded against an unprotected steel beam and broke. The employee fell 47 feet to the ground. The judge affirmed the lifeline-protection item…
E.J. Sciaba Construction Co., Inc.
Case dismissed for lack of a notice of contest
OSHA cited E.J. Sciaba Construction after a Massachusetts worksite inspection and proposed $9,000 in penalties. Sciaba then signed an informal settlement reducing the penalties but did not make the agreed payment. More than two months after receiving the citations, the company sent a letter asking…
Eric K. Ho, Ho Ho Ho Express, Inc.; Houston Fruitland, Inc.
Corporations dismissed and $658,000 assessed against Ho
Eric K. Ho hired workers to renovate a former hospital where asbestos-containing material was removed without required controls, respiratory protection, or training. OSHA also cited unsafe sanitation and emergency conditions, failure to report an accident, and a recognized hazard involving an…
Hackensack Steel Corp.
Four steel-erection violations affirmed
Hackensack Steel was erecting structural steel at a medical-center project when two connectors worked as high as 43 feet without exterior or interior fall protection and without hardhats. Unprotected reinforcing steel also created an impalement hazard below them. The Commission rejected…
CWJ Contracting, Inc.
Repeat residential fall-protection violation affirmed
CWJ Contracting framed apartment buildings, and its superintendent stood on narrow joists of an undecked second-floor balcony about 10 feet above a concrete patio without fall protection. The judge held that CWJ's controlled-access-zone plan did not apply because the superintendent was discussing…
B & L Drywall & Acoustical, Inc.
Fall-arrest and training items affirmed
B & L Drywall was installing exterior studs and drywall when a newspaper photographed an employee standing on a scissor-lift basket rail about 24 feet above the ground. The employee wore a harness, but his six-foot lanyard was attached below shoulder level and could have allowed a free fall longer…
Nutone, Inc.
Crane and scissor-lift citations vacated
Two Nutone maintenance employees were injured when an overhead bridge crane struck and knocked over the elevated scissor lift from which they were working. The crane operator had disabled the crane's automatic audible and flashing warning system without the company's knowledge. The Secretary…
Diaz Corporation
Settlement approved with $7,950 in penalties
OSHA cited Diaz Corporation for eight alleged serious violations after inspecting a worksite in Waterville, Maine. During the hearing, the parties reached a settlement that the judge approved. The agreement withdrew one item, reclassified two items as other-than-serious, combined two…
Daewoosa Samoa, Ltd.
Contest dismissed for failure to designate a representative
OSHA cited Daewoosa Samoa after inspecting its garment-manufacturing worksite in American Samoa, alleging serious, repeat, other-than-serious, and failure-to-abate violations. The company timely contested, and the proceeding was stayed while its president faced a related criminal trial. After the…
Staz-On Roofing
Residential fall-protection violation affirmed
Staz-On Roofing employees, including a foreman, worked on a residential roof more than 30 feet above the ground without remaining tied off. The company argued that workers had to unhook to retrieve rolls of felt and that conventional or additional protection was infeasible or created a greater…
Coppell Construction Company, Inc.
Fall-protection citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A videotape showed two Coppell Construction employees near the unprotected edge of an automated people mover about 50 feet above the ground. One employee admitted briefly unclipping his lanyard to move around coworkers, while the evidence did not establish that the second employee was untied. The…
Navillus Tile, Inc., d/b/a Navillus Contracting
Settlement approved
OSHA issued Navillus Tile two citations alleging serious and repeat violations after inspecting a New York City worksite. During the hearing, the parties reached a complete settlement and later reduced it to a signed written stipulation. The judge approved and incorporated the settlement, but the…
Donohue Industries, Inc.
Spot-welder grounding citation vacated for lack of knowledge
A Donohue Industries electrician returned a portable spot welder to service without connecting its grounding wire, and a millwright was later fatally electrocuted while using it at the paper mill. The Commission reviewed the item alleging that Donohue failed to ground the welder. It found that…
Oberdorfer Industries, Inc.
Foundry citations partly affirmed and partly vacated
Oberdorfer operated an aluminum foundry that OSHA inspected under a local emphasis program for primary-metal industries. The Commission vacated the no-smoking-sign and explosion-proof-wiring items because the Secretary did not perform the testing her expert said was needed to establish dangerous…
Brooks Well Servicing, Inc.
Snubbing-rig emergency-egress citation vacated
Brooks Well Servicing employees were assisting a specialized snubbing operation at an active oil and gas well when a blowout and explosion killed seven people. OSHA alleged that Brooks failed to provide adequate emergency escape from the elevated snubbing rig. The Commission held that the exit…
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.