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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Full-scope inspection warrant upheld
Trinity manufactured tanks and pressure vessels at a Sharonville, Ohio, facility. After an employee complaint, OSHA obtained a warrant authorizing a limited complaint inspection, a records review, and a full-scope inspection if neutral administrative-plan criteria were met. The facility's…
Alaska Trawl Fisheries, Inc.
OSHA jurisdiction over factory vessels affirmed
Alaska Trawl Fisheries and Golden Age Fisheries operated vessels that caught and processed fish near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. OSHA cited machine guarding, passageway, recordkeeping, welding-gas storage, and hazard-communication conditions aboard the vessels. The companies stipulated to the violations…
Ed Taylor Construction Co.
Confined-space inspection-program violation affirmed
Taylor Construction employees entered a 24-foot-deep access shaft to close a valve for an artificial lake at an Atlanta office project. Three supervisory employees died after being overcome by an oxygen-deficient atmosphere during the initial entry and rescue attempts. Two related citation items…
Industrial Glass
Heat-stress general-duty citation vacated
Industrial Glass manufactured bottles in a forming department where employees worked near molten glass and hot bottles. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause for exposing employees to excessive heat stress. The Commission found that the Secretary's expert models did not accurately…
Tampa Shipyards, Inc.
Willful crane overload affirmed after fatal collapse
Tampa Shipyards used a tower crane to lift and swing a ship-deck section that workers believed weighed 33 tons while the boom was set for a 21-ton capacity. The crane collapsed during the lift and killed two employees. The Commission affirmed a willful general duty clause violation because…
F.M.C. Gold Company, Inc.
OSHA citations withdrawn because MSHA had jurisdiction
F.M.C. Gold used an independent drilling contractor to extract core samples at a remote gold exploration site in Idaho. A contractor's fuel truck rolled downhill and pinned an F.M.C. employee against the drill rig, causing fatal injuries. OSHA cited F.M.C. for failing to chock or turn vehicle…
Ceco Corporation
General-duty citation withdrawn in settlement
Ceco Corporation was a concrete formwork contractor cited after OSHA inspected a parking-garage construction project. The item before the Commission alleged a serious general-duty-clause violation because employees rode forklift tines to reach an 11-foot scaffold. The parties entered a full…
Phillips 66 Company
Union abatement objections required settlement remand
After an explosion and fire at a Phillips 66 petrochemical facility, OSHA alleged 566 willful general-duty-clause violations and proposed more than $5.6 million in penalties. A proposed settlement removed the willful classification, set a $4 million payment, and extended abatement schedules across…
General Dynamics Land Systems Division, Inc.
Freon use inside assembled tanks violated the general duty clause
General Dynamics employees used large quantities of freon to clean oil from the interiors of assembled M-1 Abrams tanks. The Commission found that the enclosed crew, driver, and turret compartments were confined spaces when freon was introduced because ventilation and escape were limited and toxic…
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
Authorized union controlled employee participation in settlement
OSHA cited Georgia-Pacific over employee exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl hazards, and the company later settled with the Secretary. The authorized collective-bargaining representative elected party status, while several employees sought separate representation by another union and a former…
Regina Construction Company
Foreman's assignment supported unprotected fall citation
Regina Construction was a concrete subcontractor on a hospital construction project in Washington, D.C. OSHA observed an employee performing concrete finishing beside an unguarded floor edge 24 feet above the ground without a safety belt. The Commission admitted and credited the employee's…
Coleco Industries, Inc.
Willful elevator safety violation largely affirmed
A Coleco employee was crushed and killed when a freight elevator unexpectedly moved while he was loading it with a forklift. The Commission found a recognized hazard under the general duty clause because elevator door and gate interlocks had been intentionally bypassed, a gate was missing, and the…
Shank-Ohbayashi, Inc.
Underground-construction citations settled for $4,600
An ALJ had affirmed two willful underground-construction violations and assessed $11,000, while vacating a general duty clause item and another underground-construction item. The parties settled during Commission review. The Secretary changed the characterization of the two affirmed violations and…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Furnace lockout case settled for $6,500
Bethlehem Steel used a flag-and-tag procedure to protect employees repairing equipment at its basic oxygen furnaces from unexpected movement or energization. OSHA alleged that the procedure did not provide positive control of power sources and cited the company under the general duty clause. An ALJ…
Connecticut Light & Power Company
Electrical hazard citation vacated after unforeseeable crew error
A Connecticut Light & Power crew was replacing substation equipment when a lead electrician contacted a 23,000-volt lightning arrestor and was fatally injured. OSHA alleged that the utility's training and supervision were inadequate under the general duty clause. The Commission found that the…
Union Oil Company of California
Refinery explosion penalties reduced to $10,000 after appeal
A pressure vessel failed at Union Oil's Chicago refinery, causing an explosion and fire that killed 17 employees and caused lost-worktime injuries to 14 others. OSHA cited pressure-vessel inspection and repair practices, protective equipment for employees performing firefighting duties, fire…
Seward Motor Freight, Inc.
Forklift-platform violation reduced from willful to serious
Seward repaired semi-trailers using a work platform welded to forklift forks. Employees commonly raised the platform themselves and climbed the forklift mast to reach it instead of having an operator remain at the controls. One employee fell about seven feet while climbing down and sustained…
General Dynamics Land Systems Division, Inc.
Freon confined-space case remanded for fact-finding
General Dynamics employees entered confined spaces where trichlorotrifluoroethane, known as freon, could cause poisoning or asphyxiation. An earlier decision vacated the general duty clause citation because an exposure-limit standard addressed the chemical. The D.C. Circuit held that the standard…
Alabama Power Company
Overturning coal-truck citation vacated
An Alabama Power laboratory helper was killed when a coal truck overturned while dumping at the company's generating plant. OSHA alleged that the company had not adequately protected employees who sampled delivered coal. The Commission found that Alabama Power had sufficiently specific rules…
Formwork Services Inc.
Falling-material citation withdrawn and remaining rulings became final
Formwork Services was a concrete-forming subcontractor on an Atlanta high-rise project where falling lumber struck another contractor's employee, who then fell to his death. The judge found a serious general-duty-clause violation for inadequate protection against falling materials, but reduced its…
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
Carbon-monoxide case resolved by settlement
A failed water seal released a large amount of carbon monoxide in and around Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel's boiler house, injuring ten company employees and five subcontractor employees. The judge found serious and willful violations involving inspection and alarm precautions, emergency planning…
United Parcel Service
Footwear abatement issue remanded for hearing
United Parcel Service had withdrawn its contest to a citation alleging that workers handling heavy parcels needed foot protection under 29 C.F.R. §§ 1910.132(a) and 1910.136. After a later inspection, OSHA issued a failure-to-abate notification because the employees were not wearing safety shoes…
Salem-Gravure Division of World Color Press, Inc.
Trade-secret inspection order vacated
OSHA cited Salem-Gravure under the general duty clause for alleged repetitive-motion hazards in its bindery department. During discovery, the Secretary sought to have a private consultant inspect areas containing trade secrets. The Commission held that its own protective order did not provide…
FMC Corporation
Nitrogen-trichloride hazard items vacated
FMC produced chlorine at a West Virginia plant where nitrogen trichloride was present in a waste stream handled through heated tanks and transfer piping. An employee died when an explosion occurred in a transfer line and tank during the neutralization process. OSHA issued two general-duty citations…
Inland Steel Company
Railcar safety citation vacated
An Inland Steel switchman died while attempting to couple two groups of railcars at the company's large internal railroad operation. OSHA alleged a willful general-duty violation because Inland's cars lacked handbrakes and because its program for defective railcars and coupling work was inadequate…
Kastalon, Inc. and Conap, Inc.
MOCA exposure citations vacated
Kastalon and Conap used MOCA, a chemical shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, to manufacture polyurethane products. OSHA alleged general-duty violations at both companies and personal-protective-equipment and respirator violations at Conap. The Commission held that OSHA had to prove a…
Amoco Chemicals Corporation
Illness-recording and medical-notice items vacated
OSHA alleged that Amoco willfully failed to record asbestos-related illnesses and failed to tell an employee about a potentially serious pleural condition. The Commission held that the record did not prove Amoco had enough information and expertise at the relevant time to reasonably diagnose the…
Pelron Corporation
Ethylene-oxide training citation vacated
An explosion in Pelron's pilot chemical reactor killed one employee and seriously injured another during an experimental ethylene-oxide process. OSHA alleged that Pelron's employee training did not adequately prevent ethylene-oxide explosions. The Commission held that the hazard had to be defined…
Krause Milling Company
Corn-dust citation dismissed
OSHA cited Krause Milling for employee exposure to corn dust under the inert-or-nuisance-dust provision of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1000. The Commission held that the cited provision was part of a mineral-dust standard and did not apply to organic corn dust, and that a broader interpretation would deny…
Cerro Metal Products Division, Marmon Group, Inc.
Press-maintenance citation vacated
A Cerro mechanic died when a loader on an energized brass-extrusion press unexpectedly moved during repair work. Cerro had a rule requiring the press to be deenergized before repairs, and the employee who reenergized it knew that rule. The Commission held that OSHA bore the burden to show specific…
Daniel Construction Company
General duty citation vacated because MSHA authority preempted OSHA
Daniel Construction was building a secondary crusher structure on the surface of a mine when OSHA cited it under the general duty clause. The Commission adopted the judge's conclusion that section 4(b)(1) precluded OSHA jurisdiction because MSHA had statutory authority and had promulgated standards…
Anoplate Corporation
Mixed ruling on plating, chemical storage, and recordkeeping items
Anoplate operated an electroplating and metal-finishing plant with open chemical tanks, chemical storage, spray painting, and compressed-air work. The Commission affirmed a nonserious eye-protection violation because dipping racks created a significant risk of harmful splashes, and it assessed $25…
United States Steel Corporation
Three molten-metal explosion items affirmed and willful classification reversed
U.S. Steel was cited under the general duty clause for allowing water or ice at seven locations where molten iron or steel could be released at its South Works plant. The Commission focused on whether molten metal could realistically reach and encapsulate the water, creating an explosion capable of…
Burk Well Service Company
Citation vacated for lack of commerce evidence
OSHA cited Burk Well Service for a willful violation of the general duty clause, and the judge affirmed the citation with a $2,000 penalty. Burk had specifically denied that it was engaged in a business affecting commerce, a fact required for coverage under the Act. The Commission explained that…
Sharon Steel Corporation
Flying-steel citation vacated for lack of a current hazard
OSHA alleged that Sharon Steel exposed maintenance employees to flying steel fragments while they changed a bridle roll and sheet steel moved through a temper mill from a payoff reel. The Commission found that earlier reported incidents fell outside the Act’s six-month limitations period. On the…
FMC Corporation
Additional plant inspection allowed with cost reimbursement
OSHA cited FMC under the general duty clause for allegedly failing to control potential exposure from an uncontrolled methyl isocyanate reaction at its pesticide plant. After numerous inspections and extensive cooperation by FMC, the Secretary sought another plant inspection by expert witnesses to…
Hayes-Albion Corporation
Molten-metal explosion citation remains vacated
A fire in Hayes-Albion’s iron foundry required water to be sprayed into exhaust ductwork, and the water drained onto the floor near molten-metal operations. OSHA alleged a willful general duty clause violation based on the risk that molten metal could encapsulate water and cause an explosion. The…
Collins Well Service Company
General duty citation affirmed after Commission deadlock
OSHA investigated Collins Well Service after an employee suffered a fatal fall while riding an oil-derrick elevator without a tied-off safety belt. The judge found that this was a recognized hazard likely to cause death or serious harm, affirmed a general duty clause violation, and assessed a $480…
Copperweld Steel Company
Runway charge remanded for possible amendment to the specific standard
Copperweld Steel Company used an elevated runway to reach cranes and as an emergency escape route in its steel plant. OSHA cited the unguarded runway under the general duty clause, and the judge affirmed. On review, both parties agreed that the specific runway standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1910.23(c)(2)…
Exxon Company, U.S.A.
Split Commission leaves corrosion citation affirmed
A corroded dead-end pipe at Exxon's Linden, New Jersey refinery was the subject of a general duty clause citation. The judge affirmed the citation for failing to inspect the pipe periodically. Commissioner Cleary would have affirmed because the corrosion hazard was recognized and a five-year…
McWilliams Forge Company, Inc.
Confined-space citation vacated after amendment denied
Two McWilliams Forge employees lost consciousness while cleaning a pump with solvent in a pit and remained there for about four hours. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause for failing to test the atmosphere, provide standby rescue assistance, and use respiratory protection. On…
N.L. Industries, Inc.
Discovery sanctions and $536,000 decision set aside
OSHA alleged that N.L. Industries failed to abate excessive lead exposure and committed additional respiratory, sanitation, chelation, and lead-exposure violations at a secondary lead smelter. After N.L. Industries resisted broad discovery requests, the judge struck its defenses, entered default on…
Copperweld Steel Company
Secretary allowed to withdraw explosion-hazard citation
The Secretary cited Copperweld under the general duty clause after molten steel contacted water and caused an explosion at its plant. A judge vacated the citation, and the Secretary initially obtained Commission review but later moved to withdraw the citation after considering Copperweld's…
General Dynamics Corporation, Electric Boat Division
Escape-trunk hatch citation vacated
General Dynamics sent a submarine escape trunk to another production area before installing the spring that counterbalanced its 1,100-pound lower hatch cover. Employees wired the hatch open, but a machinist later removed the wire and was fatally injured when the cover closed. The Commission held…
Davey Tree Expert Company and Florida Power and Light Company, Intervenor
Power-line tree-trimming citation vacated
A Davey Tree employee was electrocuted when a partly cut limb unexpectedly swung into a 240,000-volt transmission line. The Secretary alleged a general duty clause violation and proposed measures including topping, roping, notching, pulling, insulating or deenergizing the line, and additional…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Fabricated Steel Construction Div.
Falling-object general duty citation vacated
Bethlehem Steel employees removing rails and metal pieces from an inclined blast-furnace skip hoist worked above a winch operator who was later struck and blinded by a falling lug. The Secretary alleged that Bethlehem violated the general duty clause by failing to provide the operator overhead…
H.P. Fowler Contracting Corporation
EAJA prevailing-party ruling reversed
Fowler settled citations concerning sewer-manhole hazards after one willful item was withdrawn, two willful items were reduced to serious, and proposed penalties fell from $11,200 to $2,080. The chief judge denied Fowler's application for $6,618.40 in fees and expenses under the Equal Access to…
Daniel Construction Company
Pipeline-support and walkway items vacated
Daniel Construction was cited under the general duty clause for allegedly inadequate support of a 40-foot pumpcrete pipeline and under section 1926.752(i) for unsecured planks forming a 20-inch walkway. The Commission affirmed the judge's vacatur of both items: the specific pumpcrete-system…
Phillips Petroleum Company
Vapor-monitoring general duty item vacated
A broken pipe nipple released hydrocarbons into a refinery compressor building, causing an explosion and fire that injured 17 employees. The disputed general duty item alleged that Phillips should have installed a system to detect excess vapor, sound an alarm, cut power and hydrocarbon flow, and…
Novak & Co., Inc.
Multi-employer worksite citations vacated
Novak, a plumbing subcontractor, was cited for allegedly inadequate overhead protection, improperly stored gas cylinders belonging to another contractor, unguarded floor perimeters, and an open floor hole. The Commission vacated every item. The Secretary did not prove that the entrance canopy was…
Cardinal Operating Company
Tank-entry general duty citation vacated
Cardinal employees faced a fall hazard while climbing through side openings into water-treatment tanks and stepping down onto internal laterals. The company had tried resistant linings, several kinds of ladders, lifelines, platforms, and other measures without solving the entry problem. The…
Aluminum Company of America, United Steelworkers of America and Local Union 302
Aluminum-powder general duty item vacated
Small water puddles were found several feet from a few shovelfuls of aluminum powder in Alcoa's large, open, heavily ventilated ball-mill room. Although contact could generate hydrogen and heat, the undisputed evidence showed the hydrogen could not reach the concentration needed for ignition or…
The Duriron Company, Inc.
Foundry heat-stress violation affirmed
Employees operating centrifugal casting machines worked for about 50 minutes each hour in temperatures measured from 92 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit near molten metal and moving machinery. One newly assigned employee received no heat-hazard instruction or acclimatization and experienced dizziness and…
Amoco Texas Refining Company
Crane-operator training citation vacated
Amoco used a rented long-boom crane to lift maintenance employees after an explosion damaged normal access routes. An operator experienced on a smaller crane reviewed the larger crane, practiced under observation, and completed a successful test lift before a later crew's basket was jostled while…
Ulysses Irrigation Pipe Company
Unlighted tractor hazard citation affirmed
A supervisor was killed while using a tractor without lights or overhead protection at night in a storage yard containing parked trailers and other obstacles. Ulysses normally used a lighted, protected forklift, but employees used the tractor when work was behind and the company's instructions…
Blocksom and Company
Lockout, cord, and machine items affirmed in part
The Commission reviewed citations involving emergency respirator training, electrical grounding and cord splices, lockout procedures, and guarding on several machines at Blocksom's stuffing-material plant. It vacated the respirator-training item because the company no longer intended employees to…
Con Agra, Inc., McMillan Company Division
Pesticide-testing case remanded
Con Agra employees entered grain railcars and sniffed grain samples, but the company tested for pesticides only when a car had a fumigation placard or detectable odor. The evidence showed that placards could be missing and that methyl bromide has no detectable odor, while other pesticide odors may…
Farthing & Weidman, Inc.
Two crane violations affirmed and two advisory-rule items vacated
Farthing & Weidman used a truck crane to raise one end of a large aluminum tank, but the sling hooks tore through weak metal and the tank fell on an employee, killing him. The Commission affirmed violations for failing to secure and balance the load and for allowing the operator to leave the…
State Moving-Trucking, Inc.
General duty violation affirmed after fatal derrick collapse
An ironworker died when a 62-foot stiffleg derrick collapsed during dismantling, exposing State Moving-Trucking's four officer-employees to the falling structure as well. State had taken the dismantling contract despite lacking relevant expertise and allowed the work to proceed without confirming a…
John T. Brady & Co., Inc.
General duty citation reinstated after court remand
The Second Circuit remanded the case with instructions for the Commission to reinstate the citation against John T. Brady & Co. The Commission followed that mandate and affirmed the citation alleging a violation of the general duty clause. It also affirmed the administrative law judge's $200…
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.