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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Capeway Roofing Systems, Inc.
Seven roofing violations and $111,800 affirmed
Capeway Roofing installed roofing on a firehouse with four roof levels and was cited for head protection, fall protection, monitoring, training, material storage, and defective safety equipment. The Commission found that any error in allowing two OSHA witnesses to remain in the courtroom despite a…
Lakeland Enterprises of Rhinelander, Inc.
Willful trench violation and $50,200 affirmed
A Lakeland employee worked at the bottom of an 18-foot excavation without a ladder or cave-in protection while a part-owner continued operating a backhoe nearby. The judge found that the trench walls were inadequately sloped in Type C soil with pockets of Type B soil and that loose soil was visibly…
Davis Brothers Construction Co.
Fall citation vacated for lack of exposure proof
OSHA compliance officers photographed an unidentified worker from about 300 feet away on the seventh-floor roof deck of an apartment project. Davis Brothers was the shell contractor, and the judge found that its contract gave it sufficient safety control over the decking subcontractor to make it a…
Weirton Steel Corporation
Willful carbon-monoxide item affirmed and clothing item vacated
Weirton Steel employees climbed to a blast furnace's bleeder deck without respirators while carbon-monoxide monitors alarmed at 150 parts per million or more and, on one trip, exceeded the monitor's 1,999-parts-per-million capacity. The Commission held that the respiratory-protection standard was…
CB&I Constructors, Inc.
GFCI citation against general contractor vacated
CB&I was the general contractor for an elevated water tower where an electrical subcontractor had an extension cord without visible ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection connected to a conduit threader. The judge found that the Secretary did not prove the outlet was single-phase and rated at…
Designs Unlimited Contractors
Residential roofing violations affirmed
Designs Unlimited Contractors was finishing a residential reroofing job when OSHA observed three workers more than 25 feet above the ground without fall protection. The judge found that the company had not provided competent-person inspections, had removed its fall-protection system before…
Garney Construction, Inc.
Two trench items affirmed and two vacated
Garney Construction was installing large sewer pipe in an excavation nearly eight feet deep in Type B soil. The judge vacated the egress item because a gravel ramp and ladder provided a safe route out of the trench. He affirmed the item involving a 100,000-pound excavator and excavated soil at the…
Superior Masonry Builders, Inc.
Training and competent-person items affirmed
A tower scaffold fitted with a winter enclosure collapsed during high winds while seven Superior Masonry employees were installing brick veneer, injuring all seven. The Commission vacated the item alleging that the scaffold was not adequately braced to the building because the version of the…
Cargill, Inc.
Lockout violation affirmed after palletizer fatality
A Cargill employee was killed after entering a palletizer's pusher area without de-energizing and locking out the machine. Cargill argued that the event was unpreventable employee misconduct because it had written policies, recurring training, peer observations, and discipline. The judge found that…
Austin Bridge & Road, Inc.
Crane-overloading violation affirmed
An Austin Bridge & Road crane overturned while lifting a concrete bridge beam. Austin's lift plan used an engineered beam weight, but the plan left little margin for error, a bill of lading with the actual weight was available, and the crane operator had expressed concern that the lift could not be…
Recchi America, Inc.- GLF Construction Corp., A Joint Venture
Rebar and crane swing-radius violations affirmed
OSHA cited the joint venture building Georgia's Sidney Lanier Bridge for uncapped reinforcing steel, open access holes, an inadequate crane swing-radius barricade, and failure to secure a crane to a barge. The judge affirmed the serious rebar violation and the repeat swing-radius violation. The…
Brian Hanley Logging
Yarder guyline hazard affirmed as repeat
Brian Hanley Logging anchored three guylines from a skyline logging yarder to standing trees. The judge found that the trees could fall toward employees when stressed by the yarding operation, that both the logging industry and the employer recognized the hazard, and that using notched stumps or…
Rawson Contractors, Inc.
Undermined-pavement violation affirmed
Rawson Contractors allowed employees to work on and below pavement that had been undermined by a sewer excavation, with part of an excavator resting near the unsupported area. The judge held that the cited standard presumes a hazard when pavement is undermined without support or other protection…
Lacerte Builders, Inc.
Controlling employer liable for subcontractor fall hazards
An OSHA compliance officer observed subcontractor employees using elevated aerial lifts and working on open third-floor balconies without proper fall protection. The judge found that Lacerte controlled the exterior work, supervised the subcontractors, could correct hazards, and had actual knowledge…
FABI Construction Company, Inc.
Construction violations affirmed after fatal slab collapse
A FABI employee was killed when a 10,000-pound concrete knockout slab collapsed during demolition at an Atlantic City construction project. After reviewing the full record, the Commission affirmed the judge's findings that FABI committed multiple serious construction violations, including failures…
Anderson Masonry, Inc.
Scaffold access and locking-pin violations affirmed
Employees erecting Anderson Masonry's scaffold climbed cross bracing because no ladder or other safe access had been provided, and scaffold frames lacked locking pins despite repeated forklift deliveries that could cause uplift. Those serious violations were affirmed with penalties totaling $3,000…
GFW Construction
Contest dismissed for ignoring discovery order
GFW Construction failed to answer the Secretary's interrogatories even after the judge ordered a full response within five days and warned that noncompliance would lead to sanctions. GFW also did not respond to the Secretary's sanctions motion. Finding that the refusal to comply was conscious…
Creative Gold, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after FedEx delivery
After certified-mail attempts were returned, OSHA sent two citations by FedEx to Creative Gold's new Brooklyn address, where someone at the shared entrance signed for them. The judge held that service was reasonably calculated to provide notice and that receipt occurred on the delivery date…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Four shipyard violations affirmed after fatal barge fire
Two Trinity welders died in a fire while welding inside a newly built barge whose enclosed spaces had recently been sprayed with Tectyl, a rust inhibitor that released combustible and toxic Stoddard solvent vapors while curing. The Commission held that the shipyard enclosed-space standards applied…
C.T. Taylor Company Inc., & Esprit Constructors, Inc.
Related companies treated as a single employer
Two ironworkers fell 39 feet to their deaths after a foreman placed a 5,000-pound bundle of decking on unsecured and unbridged bar joists without providing fall protection. The Commission treated C.T. Taylor and Esprit as a single employer for this project because they shared ownership, management…
Grey Wolf Drilling Company L.P. Rig 865
Backing-truck hazard violation affirmed
A Grey Wolf toolpusher was killed by a winch truck backing across a drilling site while the driver's view was obstructed and the assigned swamper rested in the cab. The judge found that both Grey Wolf's safety manual and drilling-industry guidance recognized using a flagman when a driver lacked a…
Red-Hawk Construction, Inc.
Payment-plan amendment referred to the chief judge
The chief administrative law judge approved a settlement requiring Red-Hawk Construction to pay an $18,900 penalty. The Secretary later submitted a revised stipulation providing for eighteen monthly payments of $1,050 and asked that it replace the original stipulation. The Commission directed the…
Red-Hawk Construction, Inc.
Revised settlement returned to the chief judge
The chief judge had approved a settlement requiring Red-Hawk Construction to pay $18,900. The Secretary then submitted a revised stipulation specifying that the amount would be paid in eighteen monthly installments of $1,050 and asked that it replace the original stipulation. The Commission…
Interstate Brands Corp.
Lockout citations vacated after unforeseeable supervisor error
An Interstate Brands chief engineer lost three fingers after pulling the wrong disconnect levers, failing to apply locks or tags, and reaching into an energized sugar-system rotary valve. Applying Third Circuit precedent, the Commission found that the supervisor's departure from a well-communicated…
F & G Sons Contractors, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after signed receipt
OSHA's certified-mail return receipt showed that the citation was accepted at F & G Sons Contractors' home-based office by the company president's wife. The president claimed that she had signed only a request for later delivery and that the citation never arrived, but she did not testify and the…
84 Components Company
Settlement set aside for lack of agreement on abatement
After a settlement was approved, 84 Components and the Secretary discovered that they did not agree on the acceptable method for abating a machine-guarding citation. The judge initially left the settlement in place and suggested that the parties use a failure-to-abate proceeding or a petition to…
The Timken Company
Review vacated after split over traverser hazard
A Timken mechanic lost both feet when a moving traverser's rails meshed with rails beside the teeming car she was repairing. The two participating Commission members agreed that the lockout/tagout standard did not apply because the traverser operated independently of the teeming car. They split on…
Marcus Cable Associates, L.L.C.
Bucket-truck fall protection violations affirmed
A cable technician fell to his death from an elevated bucket while his issued harness remained in the truck. The judge found that Marcus Cable had communicated a rule requiring fall protection but failed to certify employee training, an other-than-serious violation with a $500 penalty. The company…
Rawson Contractors, Inc.
Willful trench violation affirmed and penalty reduced
Rawson's foreman removed trench boxes and knowingly sent two employees into an approximately 20-foot-deep trench with nearly vertical walls. The Commission held that the foreman's knowledge was imputable to Rawson because he supervised the crew and, critically, served as the designated competent…
Fields Excavating, Inc.
Two willful trenching violations affirmed
Fields Excavating employees entered inadequately protected pipeline excavations at two Ohio worksites. At Havener Road, a superintendent continued despite saturated, sloughing soil and explicit safety concerns from a gas repairman. At Xenia, a superintendent knowingly sent an employee into a…
Erickson Hall Construction Company
Late contest dismissed after citation was lost internally
Erickson Hall's receptionist signed for OSHA's citations but could not remember what she did with them and acknowledged that she might have discarded or misrouted them. The company argued that the compliance officer's statements and body language had suggested no citations would issue, but the…
Equipment Depot, LTD
Two forklift safety items affirmed after fatal accident
An Equipment Depot field technician died after a Hyster forklift rolled and pinned him against his service truck. The judge found the lockout/tagout standard applicable because the service call included authorized repairs, but concluded that Equipment Depot's combined formal, apprenticeship, and…
Hill Brother Construction, Inc.
Late contest dismissed after owner failed to read notice
Hill Brothers' president received OSHA's citations well before the contest deadline but looked only at the proposed penalties and did not read the prominently stated filing instructions. He then consulted several attorneys and made no effort to contact OSHA until more than 40 days after the…
Safeway, Inc.
Review vacated after split over propane grill citation
Safeway managers directed employees to adapt an oversized 40-pound propane cylinder to a grill designed for a 20-pound cylinder, leaving the larger cylinder leaning against the grill. Escaping liquid propane ignited and injured two employees. Both participating Commissioners agreed that the…
George Harms Construction Co., Inc.
Late contest dismissed when mail handler was not called
George Harms Construction had established mail procedures, and its president acted promptly after learning of the citation through a collection notice. But the employee who signed for, date-stamped, and distributed certified mail did not testify, even though she was the only known person to possess…
Ormet Primary Aluminum Corporation, Hannibal Reduction Division
Review vacated after split over union settlement objection
The Secretary and Ormet settled a citation with a proposed $3,400 penalty, but the participating union said it had timely objected to the settlement's abatement method in a letter the judge apparently never received. Chairman Railton would have affirmed the settlement because an employee…
Villa Marina Yacht Harbor, Inc.
Late contest denied after messenger mishandled mail twice
Villa Marina's messenger signed for an OSHA citation and failure-to-abate notice on January 18 but delivered them to the office the next day without disclosing the earlier pickup date. A secretary therefore stamped them received on January 19, causing the company to calculate the deadline one day…
Pico Industries
Two construction items affirmed with $650 in penalties
Following an OSHA inspection in June 2002, Pico Industries contested a citation alleging two serious construction-safety violations and $4,200 in proposed penalties. After an E-Z Trial hearing, the judge issued a bench decision. The written order affirmed item 1 as serious with a $500 penalty and…
D. Allen Bros., Inc.
Scaffold fall-protection violation affirmed after fatal fall
A bricklayer fell 42 feet to his death while crossing between scaffold sections that lacked end rails, and neither he nor his coworker wore personal fall protection. The construction manager's safety official had documented missing end rails on D. Allen scaffolds ten times before the accident and…
Parsons Contracting
Default entered after repeated missed conferences
Parsons Contracting missed a scheduled pretrial telephone conference but initially avoided default by explaining confusion about whether it would occur. The company then agreed to a second conference, failed to appear again without notice, and did not respond to the judge's order to show cause. The…
Lunda Construction Co.
Bridge-demolition lead violations result in $33,500 penalties
Lunda demolished a Milwaukee viaduct containing residual lead paint and relied on monitoring from a different bridge project instead of assessing the distinct cutting tasks at the new site. When employees began sizing steel on the ground, one cutter was exposed to more than 70 times the lead…
Avon Contractors, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed
Avon Contractors received an OSHA citation but did not file a notice of contest within the required 15 working days. The company argued that a disgruntled receptionist may have destroyed the citation and that the late filing resulted from mistake or excusable neglect. The judge found that Avon did…
84 Components Company
Settlement approval set aside for inquiry into disputed abatement
After the judge approved a settlement, 84 Components asserted that the parties had not agreed on how to abate one machine-guarding item. The Secretary did not oppose the company's request for relief. The Commission set aside the approval and remanded so the judge could investigate the disputed…
Big Poll Construction, Inc.
Late notice of contest dismissed
Big Poll Construction filed its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline and did not respond to the Secretary's dismissal motion. The company had attributed the delay to confusion about a letter from its engineer, but that letter predated the citation and did not concern contesting it…
Anderson Columbia Co., Inc.
Truck-bed transport violations yield $14,000 penalty
Anderson Columbia used a pickup truck to carry an employee and oversized traffic warning signs along a highway work area. The employee fell from the moving truck bed and later died from his injuries. The judge affirmed a serious violation for failing to secure the signs and found that allowing the…
Stahl Roofing, Inc.
Roofing safety citations vacated for lack of employer knowledge
OSHA cited Stahl Roofing after employees at two residential worksites lacked required fall protection and, at one site, eye protection. The Commission found that Stahl had appropriate work rules, training, site inspections, and progressive discipline, and that the employees' prior safety records…
AMSCO, Inc.
Default dismissal vacated after missed conference
Amsco's attorney missed one scheduled prehearing telephone conference because of staffing and communication problems at his law firm. The judge declared Amsco in default and dismissed its notice of contest, relying partly on the attorney's conduct in unrelated cases. The Commission found no…
Frank Lill & Son, Inc.
Fall-protection violation reduced from willful to serious
Frank Lill employees worked and walked on narrow generator catwalks 75 to 85 feet above lower levels without guardrails, nets, or attached personal fall protection. The judge found that employees could foreseeably enter the fall hazard zone and that management knew workers did not always tie off…
Summit Contractors, Inc.
Subcontractor fall-hazard citations vacated for lack of knowledge
OSHA cited Summit, the general contractor for a large apartment project, for several fall hazards affecting subcontractor employees. The judge held that Summit's broad contractual and practical authority made it a controlling employer under the multi-employer worksite doctrine. She vacated the…
Extreme Buildings Services Corp.
Unclaimed mail and late contest lead to dismissal
Extreme Buildings Services did not claim OSHA's certified-mail package despite three postal notices. OSHA then delivered the citation by Federal Express, but the company mailed its notice of contest after the resulting 15-working-day deadline. The company did not respond to the Secretary's…
CIR Electrical Construction Corp.
Controller's illness does not excuse late contest
CIR Electrical filed its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline and did not respond to the Secretary's dismissal motion. The company explained that the citation had been placed on the desk of its controller, who was briefly out sick, and was not found until the controller returned. The…
Constructora Marvic, Inc.
First OSHA case does not excuse late contest
Constructora Marvic mailed its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline and did not respond to the Secretary's dismissal motion. The company said this was its first OSHA citation, it expected an informal meeting, it had corrected the hazards, and the penalty strained its finances. The…
Whirlpool Corporation, Oxford Division
Press safety and lockout violations affirmed
A press operator suffered severe head injuries when a mechanical power press cycled while she was inside it removing material. The judge found that Whirlpool lacked machine-specific energy-control procedures, left press-control keys available to operators without adequate supervision, and did not…
Cason Roofing, LLC
Late contest accepted after faulty service advice
OSHA's original certified mailing was returned, and the judge found that the agency had not proved its compliance officer later hand-delivered the citation. Cason Roofing did receive the citation by fax, which provided actual notice and completed service. OSHA personnel then incorrectly told the…
CB&I Constructors, Inc.
Gas-cylinder item withdrawn and fall item corrected to serious
The Commission reviewed a decision involving access, fall-protection, scaffold-platform, ladder, and compressed-gas-cylinder conditions during construction of a water tower. The Secretary withdrew the compressed-gas-cylinder item, and the Commission granted that withdrawal. It also corrected the…
M. DeMatteo Construction Co.
Defective lanyard and rigging items vacated
OSHA found a lanyard with a broken latch, bent wire ropes, and a come-along with a defective latch at a multi-employer construction site. The judge vacated the fall-arrest item because the Secretary did not prove that M. DeMatteo controlled or used the lanyard. She found that the wire-rope bends…
Native Textile Company
Knitting-machine guarding violation reduced to serious
Many knitting machines at Native Textile's mill had exposed chains and sprockets, defective stop-button caps, or both. A portable thread rewinder also lacked a grounding pin and strain relief. The judge found that employees could contact the moving parts and that management knew about the missing…
Coastal Paving, Inc.
Twenty-three items affirmed after contest withdrawal
OSHA issued Coastal Paving three citations containing 23 serious, willful, and other-than-serious items against its asphalt manufacturing operation. Before the hearing, Coastal withdrew its contest and stated that it was no longer in business, had no employees, and could not refute the Secretary's…
Calhar Construction, Inc.
Trench and backup-alarm violations affirmed
Employees worked in a trench more than seven feet deep with the access ladder over 60 feet away and set at an improper angle. The trench lacked an adequate cave-in protection system, and laboratory testing confirmed that the soil was not stable rock. OSHA also observed a front-end loader backing…
Lowe's Home Centers, Inc.
Bloodborne-pathogen vaccination plan violation affirmed
Lowe's exposure-control plan identified managers, first-aid volunteers, cleanup personnel, and others who could encounter blood or other potentially infectious material. Store practice also expected or permitted those employees to provide first aid and clean spills. The judge held that this…
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.