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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Nu-Way Mobile Home Manufacturing, Inc.
General-industry fall citation vacated because construction standards applied
Nu-Way built mobile homes from the ground up on an assembly line, and OSHA cited the general-industry personal-protective-equipment rule after employees worked on a roof without safety belts. The Commission held that the work was construction because the nature of the work, not its factory…
L.R. Willson & Sons, Inc.
Perimeter-net citation reinstated after court remand
The Commission had previously vacated a serious citation alleging that L.R. Willson failed to use perimeter netting against exterior falls during structural steel erection. The D.C. Circuit reversed that decision and directed the Commission to reinstate the citation. Following the court's mandate…
A. Amorello & Sons, Inc.
Backup-alarm violation affirmed as other-than-serious after court remand
On remand from the First Circuit, the Commission reconsidered whether a front-end loader operated in reverse without a working backup alarm. Two OSHA officials observed the loader backing without hearing an alarm, and a later demonstration showed that the alarm did not sound until an operator…
New Boston Coke Corporation
Settlement approved after bankruptcy authorization
New Boston Coke submitted proof that the bankruptcy court had authorized its trustee to execute a settlement agreement. Counsel for the Secretary, the company, and the union had already signed the agreement. The Commission approved the settlement, and the short release does not identify the…
The L.E. Meyers Co., High Voltage Systems Division
Three ladder and fall-protection items vacated
L.E. Meyers, an electrical contractor, was installing protective rubber hosing on power lines when an apprentice fell from a ladder, contacted an energized jumper, and was electrocuted. Another employee was injured when he jumped from the ladder. The Commission held that changing § 1926.28(a) from…
Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co.
Settlement order remanded to remove a penalty
The administrative law judge approved the parties’ settlement but assessed a $150 penalty for item 3. Cleveland Electric told the Commission that the order conflicted with the settlement because item 3 should assess no penalty. The Secretary agreed and stated an intention to withdraw the citations…
Schwarz-Jordan, Inc.
Serious scaffold citation reinstated after court reversal
The Commission had previously vacated a citation alleging that Schwarz-Jordan violated the scaffold standard by using an unguarded scaffold. The Fifth Circuit reversed that decision and directed the Commission to reinstate the citation. Following the court’s mandate, the Commission reinstated…
Metro Waterproofing, Inc.
Consolidated cases remanded for factual inquiry
Metro Waterproofing’s president, acting without counsel, stipulated that certain violations existed on the inspection date. The judge relied on that stipulation to affirm five citations and assess $17,120 in penalties. A later affidavit asserted that the conditions violated communicated and…
Simplex Time Recorder Company
Solvent violation reduced from willful to serious
Simplex used lacquer thinner with a four-degree Fahrenheit flash point to clean a spray-booth floor, contrary to a standard requiring at least a 100-degree flash point for that cleaning use. A fire occurred in the booth and an employee died. The Commission held that the standard was validly…
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…
General Electric Company
Settlement affirmed over union’s abatement objections
OSHA cited General Electric for exposing employees to burn hazards from hot slag in a molten-metal furnace. The Secretary and GE settled, with GE agreeing to monitor furnaces for slag buildup and address safety precautions for maintenance. The participating union objected that the agreement did not…
Ernie's Esquire, Inc.
Dismissal remanded for another chance to certify notice
The judge dismissed Ernie’s Esquire’s contest of its citations because the company had not certified that it posted or served the notice of contest for affected employees. The company president sought reconsideration and explained that he had posted materials but believed an affected employee meant…
Cardinal Industries, Inc.
General-industry fall items vacated as preempted
Cardinal built modular housing units on an indoor assembly line using carpentry, plumbing, roofing, and electrical work. OSHA cited two unguarded platforms under the general-industry guardrail standard and the lack of safety belts under the general-industry personal-protective-equipment standard…
Gulf States Utilities Company
Grounding citation vacated because insulator work was maintenance
A Gulf States crew replaced vandalism-damaged porcelain insulators with epoxy insulators on a deenergized power line. While the crew removed grounding chains, one chain was taken off out of sequence and a lineman holding a spliced chain was electrocuted by induced current. OSHA cited the utility…
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…
MLB Industries, Inc.
Fall-protection citation vacated because Crown controlled the work
MLB supplied three union laborers to Crown Zellerbach for emergency concrete-floor removal work at Crown’s construction project. The workers used no fall protection, and one fell about 14 feet when the concrete beneath him gave way and later died from his injuries. The judge treated MLB as the…
Adams Steel Erection, Inc.
Two citation items reinstated after court review
The Commission had previously reversed the administrative law judge and vacated two citation items against Adams Steel Erection. The Third Circuit granted the Secretary’s petition for review and directed the Commission to reinstate the judge’s decision. The Commission therefore affirmed a serious…
Bechtel Power Corporation
Crane-barricade citation vacated
Bechtel used rope-and-flag barricades around cranes while building a power plant. A crane oiler was killed when he was caught between the tracks and rotating superstructure of a crawler crane, and OSHA cited the barricading standard. The Secretary conceded that the physical barricade was the type…
RSR Quemetco, a Division of RSR Corporation, A Corporation
Remanded proceedings authorized to resume
The Commission had previously severed these four consolidated RSR matters and remanded them to administrative law judges. The Fifth Circuit stayed those remand orders while it reviewed RSR’s petition. After the court affirmed the Commission’s orders, the Commission directed the assigned judges to…
Red Star Marine Services, Inc.
Noise citation withdrawn and case dismissed
Red Star operated tugboats and marine towing services. An administrative law judge found that an engineer aboard the tugboat Stamford was exposed to excessive engine-room noise and that Red Star lacked a continuing, effective hearing-conservation program. The judge affirmed those two items as other…
Eastern Steel Erectors, Inc.
EAJA fee claim settled for $4,330
Eastern Steel Erectors had an application pending for attorney’s fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The parties agreed to end the fee dispute without further litigation. The Department of Labor agreed to pay $4,330 without conceding that the company was entitled to fees. In…
Four Flags Drilling Company
Kelly-bushing citation withdrawn under abatement settlement
Four Flags drilled oil and gas wells and was cited for failing to guard a smooth rotary-table kelly bushing, with a proposed $300 penalty. The judge affirmed the serious item and penalty, and Commission review followed. In settlement, Four Flags agreed either to use a contact-preventing guard or to…
National Engineering & Contracting Company
Settlement approved
The Commission approved the parties’ stipulation and settlement agreement. It issued no separate explanation of the agreement or the reasons for approval. The short official release does not identify the cited standards, alleged conditions, settlement terms, abatement obligations, or penalty result.
Hahnel Brothers Co.
Roofing citation withdrawn under fall-protection agreement
Hahnel Brothers sought Commission review of an administrative law judge’s decision involving a roofing citation. In settlement, the Secretary withdrew the citation. Hahnel agreed that, during built-up roofing work on low-pitched roofs more than 16 feet above ground, it would use an MSS system or a…
Du-Mor Enterprizes, Action Utility Company, Inc., Du-Mor Drilling and Blasting
Training citation remains vacated after Commission impasse
Du-Mor used a trenching machine with a power-driven digging chain. A laborer was killed when the operator restarted the chain while the laborer was nearby, and OSHA cited Du-Mor for inadequate hazard instruction. The judge vacated the citation after crediting testimony that employees had been…
F. A. Gray, Inc.
Roof safety-belt item affirmed, scaffold item vacated
F. A. Gray employees painted a hotel exterior from a two-point suspension scaffold and from the edge of a 60-foot-high flat roof without safety belts. Both Commission members agreed to vacate the scaffold item because the employer had communicated and enforced a belt rule, supervisors inspected…
Phoenix Forging Company Division
Programmed-inspection warrant challenge rejected
Phoenix stipulated that 13 safety violations occurred but sought to suppress the inspection evidence and invalidate the warrant. It argued that the warrant exceeded the programmed-inspection plan, improperly allowed private employee interviews and record review, and relied on an unpublished OSHA…
General Motors Corporation, Rochester Products Division
Unshored-trench and training items affirmed
GM employees dug and shored a deep trench inside a manufacturing building to install an oil-collection trough. A worker was injured when an unshored wall collapsed as he used an unshored leg of the trench to leave the work area. The Commission affirmed a serious trenching violation because GM left…
Smith Steel Casting Co.
Evidence from invalid warrant admitted
OSHA inspected Smith Steel’s foundry under an ex parte warrant and cited silica, copper-fume, noise, and respirator-program conditions. The Fifth Circuit later held that the warrant was invalid under the inspection regulation then in effect and returned the case for the Commission to decide whether…
Equitable Shipyards, Inc.
Welding-respirator dispute remanded for subpoenaed testimony
OSHA cited Equitable Shipyards for inadequate mechanical ventilation and respirator protection against welding fumes. The Commission rejected Equitable’s request to suppress inspection evidence obtained under a limited warrant based on an employee complaint. It held, however, that the judge should…
Curt Bullock Builders, Inc.
Mixed guarding and grounding rulings left in place
Curt Bullock manufactured prefabricated garages and was cited over an unguarded storage surface, an unguarded conveyor chain and sprocket, circular saws with lower guards wired back, and ungrounded employee-owned equipment. The judge treated the storage-surface item as de minimis and the…
Thermal Reduction Corporation
Willful refusal to produce injury log affirmed
During a warranted OSHA inspection, Thermal Reduction’s vice president twice refused to provide the company’s OSHA Form 200 injury and illness log unless the inspector promised that no disclosed information would ever be used against the company. The Commission held that the Act and recordkeeping…
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…
J.L. Foti Construction Co., Inc.
Three construction items affirmed, one vacated
J.L. Foti performed masonry work as a subcontractor on a hospital project and objected when OSHA inspected its enclosed elevator-shaft work area without a warrant. The general contractor consented to the inspection, but the two Commission members divided on whether that consent overrode Foti’s…
Davis Metal Stamping, Inc.
Evidence admitted despite invalid ex parte warrant
OSHA obtained an ex parte warrant to inspect Davis Metal’s plant after company officers refused entry and stated that mechanical power presses were unguarded. Applying Fifth Circuit precedent, the Commission treated the warrant as invalid under OSHA’s inspection regulation then in effect. It…
Kut-Kwick Corporation
EAJA fee claim settled for $6,500
Kut-Kwick had an application pending for attorney’s fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The parties settled the entire fee claim without further litigation. The Department of Labor agreed to pay $6,500 without conceding that Kut-Kwick was legally entitled to fees. In exchange…
City Oil Well Service Co.
Respirator citations left vacated after Commission impasse
Two City Oil Well Service employees died during swabbing work at an oil well where later testing found hydrogen sulfide at 225 parts per million. City relied on well operators to identify hydrogen-sulfide hazards and supply respirators, and it made no inquiry or respiratory-protection plan of its…
B.G. Danis Company
Trench-sloping citation remains vacated
B.G. Danis employees installed pipe in a roughly nine-foot-deep trench dug through a mixture of sand, gravel, silt, and clay. OSHA alleged a willful violation because the trench walls were not sloped adequately for soft or unstable soil. The judge vacated the citation based on soil testing, expert…
Vac-Air Alloys Corporation
Shear-guarding settlement cuts penalty to $150
Vac-Air processed and cut metal using six hydraulic shears that OSHA cited for unguarded points of operation. The judge affirmed the serious violation and proposed $360 penalty. In settlement, Vac-Air agreed to install an adjustable barrier guard on one shear and use that guarded machine for stock…
Schulte Corporation
Three electroplating-protection violations affirmed
Schulte manufactured bathroom fixtures and finished them in electroplating tanks containing corrosive chemical solutions. The Commission affirmed a nonserious violation because employees exposed to chromic acid received no periodic examinations after their pre-employment physicals. It also affirmed…
Metal Bank of America, Inc.
Lead-standard case settled for $2,500
OSHA cited Metal Bank for serious violations of the lead standard and proposed a $4,280 penalty. An earlier stipulation withdrew parts of the citation and reduced the proposed penalty for the remaining items to $3,000. Under the final settlement, Metal Bank withdrew its contest and petition for…
PPG Industries, Inc., Industrial Chemical Division
Undercharged SCBA item reduced to de minimis
PPG kept self-contained breathing apparatuses for trained employees performing shutdown or repair work during chemical leaks and other emergencies. OSHA found six cylinders charged to 1,850 or 1,900 psi instead of the manufacturer’s full-charge specification of 2,015 psi plus a permitted…
Mobay Chemical Corporation
Undercharged breathing-apparatus citation remains vacated
Mobay manufactured chemicals and maintained self-contained breathing apparatuses throughout a plant that used highly toxic substances. OSHA found four departmental units that were not fully charged and proposed a $350 serious penalty, although the rescue-team units and employees’ escape respirators…
Austin Engineering Company, Inc.
Crane and trenching violations affirmed
Austin Engineering installed a water main in a deep trench using a truck crane. The Commission reversed the judge and found a nonserious fire-extinguisher violation because extinguishers on pickup trucks about 100 feet away were not available at the crane cab as the standard required; it assessed…
Stripe-A-Zone, Inc.
Traffic-safety case remanded for findings and a merits hearing
Stripe-A-Zone installed ceramic traffic buttons and stripes on a federally funded Texas highway project. OSHA issued four citations concerning traffic-control procedures, practices, and training. The company argued that Department of Transportation authority displaced OSHA jurisdiction, and the…
ITT Grinnell Corp.
Court-remanded case returned for additional evidence
The Third Circuit returned ITT Grinnell’s case to the Commission. The Commission then remanded it to the chief administrative law judge for reassignment. The assigned judge was directed to let the parties present additional evidence on the issues covered by the court’s order and to conduct any…
Sun Ship, Inc.
Record-disclosure citations vacated as untimely
Sun Ship built and repaired ships and provided its union with OSHA injury and illness logs after deleting employee names under its confidentiality policy. It later refused to provide complete records to OSHA unless the agency signed a nondisclosure agreement. The judge found two willful…
Concrete Construction Co., Inc.
Backhoe power-line violations affirmed for $500
Concrete Construction used a backhoe to lay large pipe beneath energized power lines. The backhoe’s knuckle joint contacted a 7,620-volt line while an employee assigned to watch clearance was also steadying the pipe, and the employee was electrocuted. The Commission held that the crane…
Austin Bridge Company
Cable-guardrail citation vacated
Austin Bridge installed cable guardrails along an elevated highway exit ramp while a concrete-finishing screed moved along the deck. OSHA alleged that the cables deflected six to eight inches under less than 200 pounds of pressure, exceeding the standard’s requirement for minimum deflection. The…
Westdale, Inc.
Review dismissed after company failed to brief
An administrative law judge affirmed a citation against Westdale after a hearing. Westdale petitioned for Commission review, and the Commission granted review and ordered briefing. The company did not file a brief, did not state that it would decline briefing, and did not respond to a later…
Bridge Builders, Inc.
Citation withdrawn during Commission review
Bridge Builders obtained Commission review of its case, and the Commission issued a briefing notice. After further review, the Secretary concluded that continued litigation was not warranted and filed a notice withdrawing the citation. The Commission treated that notice as a motion and granted it…
New England Container Company, Inc.
Valve item affirmed, noise items vacated
New England reconditioned used 55-gallon drums and operated a noisy blasting machine. The judge affirmed an other-than-serious, no-penalty violation because drums of flammable liquid lacked self-closing valves after installed valves broke and replacements were ordered. Chairman Buckley agreed that…
Schiavone Construction Company
Cord and underground-fire items reduced to de minimis
Schiavone was the prime contractor on a cut-and-cover subway-station project. The Commission found a de minimis extension-cord violation because heavy-duty cords lay near lumber with protruding nails, but the chance of insulation damage and injury was remote. The members divided on whether the…
Robert K. Bell Enterprises
Amusement-park guarding case remanded after evidence admitted
Bell operated an amusement park where OSHA cited unguarded pulleys and belts on the Scrambler ride. An administrative law judge invalidated the inspection warrant, suppressed the inspection evidence, and vacated the citation for lack of proof that Bell affected interstate commerce. The Commission…
Barretto Granite Corporation
Late written contest accepted for a merits hearing
OSHA issued two repeated citations to Barretto Granite. Acting without counsel, the company disputed the citations at an informal conference held within the 15-working-day contest period. It sent letters confirming that dispute after the deadline, and the judge treated the letters as the notice of…
Gates & Fox Company, Inc.
Two willful findings reversed and penalties reduced
Gates & Fox was a subcontractor building part of the Washington, D.C., subway system. The judge found willful violations because a truck crane operated within ten feet of a 4,000-volt line and because self-rescuers were not provided in a tunnel area without an advancing face. The Commission members…
Beauty Craft Tile of the Southwest, Inc.
Suppression reversed and citations remanded
OSHA obtained a warrant to inspect Beauty Craft's Oklahoma plant after complaints about removed machine safeguards and inadequate paint-shop ventilation. The judge suppressed the inspection evidence as the product of an overbroad warrant and then vacated the resulting serious and nonserious…
Asbestos Textile Company, Inc.
Asbestos violations affirmed but willful claims rejected or deadlocked
Asbestos Textile processed raw asbestos in a rubber-products plant. OSHA cited exposure-limit, dust-control, monitoring, respirator, protective-clothing, housekeeping, locker, and medical-examination issues under the asbestos standard. The Commissioners agreed that the respirator, clothing…
Con-Agra, Inc.
Direction for review vacated at employee representative's request
The authorized employee representative sent a letter indicating that there might be no party interest in further adjudication of Con-Agra's case. The Commission treated the letter as a motion to vacate its direction for review and granted that motion. The order would become final after ten days…
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.