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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Carpenter Technology Corp.
Review vacated after forklift-standard deadlock
Carpenter Technology used a large forklift to carry slag pots through parts of its steel plant where employees sometimes walked. OSHA cited the company under the powered-industrial-truck rule requiring a driver to keep a clear view of the path of travel. The judge vacated the citation after…
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…
Palmer Steel Supplies, Inc.
Direction for review vacated after Secretary withdrew petition
The Secretary filed a notice concerning the petition for discretionary review in Palmer Steel Supplies' case. The Commission treated the notice as a motion to withdraw that petition. It granted the motion and vacated the direction for review. The order does not identify a cited OSHA standard…
General American Transportation Corporation
Five citation items left affirmed after deadlock
The judge affirmed citation items involving combustible material near oxygen storage, paint-spill cleanup, paint-residue accumulations, damaged crane slings, and machine guarding at General American Transportation's plant. Commissioner Cleary would have affirmed each item based on the cited…
Lewis & Lambert Metal Contractors, Inc.
Electrical item affirmed and guardrail items vacated
Lewis & Lambert was a sheet-metal subcontractor at a building project in Fort Worth, Texas. The Commission affirmed a ground-fault-protection violation because the company could have installed a portable ground-fault circuit interrupter for its employees' electric tools. It vacated three guardrail…
Elmer Construction Corporation
Late contest accepted and case remanded for a merits hearing
OSHA cited Elmer Construction Corporation for two serious violations and proposed a $320 penalty. Elmer paid the penalty, but its newly retained attorney called OSHA and said the company wanted to contest the violations. The Commission found that the conversation was confusing and may have led the…
Bridgeport Brass Company
Indoor emergency eyewash and shower were sufficiently accessible
Bridgeport Brass Company occasionally transferred sulfuric acid from a truck to an outdoor storage tank. An eyewash fountain and safety shower were inside an adjacent building, a short distance from the door. The Secretary argued that the door, tank, truck, and delivery lines could obstruct an…
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)…
Bay State Smelting Co., Inc.
Split Commission leaves judge's lead and posting rulings in place
Bay State Smelting operated a workplace where employees were exposed to excessive lead. The judge affirmed numerous serious lead-standard violations, including prohibited prophylactic chelation, but declined to classify the chelation violation as willful. The judge also vacated a citation-posting…
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…
Moore Petroleum Service Co., Rig No. 18
Fixed-ladder platform violation affirmed
Moore Petroleum employees used a fixed ladder to reach a work platform 55 feet above the ground at an oil well. An employee fell from the ladder and died from his injuries three days later. The rig had no landing platforms, and its usual ladder-climbing safety device was broken. The Commission held…
St. Regis Paper Company
Split Commission leaves flammable-liquid citation affirmed
St. Regis used flammable inks and solvents in printing flexible packaging at its Pennsylvania plant. The judge held that the industrial-plant flammable-liquid standard applied and affirmed a citation for transferring the liquids without safety cans or another approved method. Commissioner Cleary…
Rust Engineering Company
Split Commission leaves delayed fall-protection citation vacated
OSHA issued Rust Engineering a fall-protection citation 111 days after its inspection. The judge vacated the citation because the delay was unreasonable and prejudiced Rust's defense, and also found that compliance was impossible and would create greater hazards. Chairman Buckley would have…
Todd Shipyards Corporation
Unguarded hatch and inadequate lighting violations affirmed
Todd Shipyards employees entered a dark cargo-hold area containing unguarded open hatches while repairing a ship. A leadman fell 30 feet through a hatch and died from his injuries. The judge vacated the citations because he found that Todd did not know and could not reasonably have known employees…
Daniel Marr & Son Company
General safety-net charge vacated under steel-erection rule
Daniel Marr employees erected steel at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant while working up to 115 feet above the ground without safety nets in place. The judge found violations of both the steel-erection net rule and the general construction safety-net rule. Daniel Marr did not seek review of the…
Sasser Electric and Manufacturing Company
Crane power-line citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Sasser hired an experienced independent crane company to load a generator at its West Virginia facility. During the operation, the crane contacted a 7.2-kilovolt line while two Sasser employees held cables attached to the crane; one employee died and another was hospitalized. The Commission found…
Schwarz-Jordan, Inc.
Scaffold item vacated, laser item affirmed, and tool-label item reduced
Schwarz-Jordan, a drywall subcontractor, faced citations involving an unguarded mobile scaffold, a missing laser warning placard, and an unmarked double-insulated screw gun. The Commission vacated the scaffold item because the scaffold platform itself was less than 10 feet above its base, even…
Johnson & Johnson Products, Inc., & Ethicon, Inc.
Exposure-record access items vacated
Five employees authorized a law firm to obtain their medical records for workers' compensation or occupational disease claims. The firm also requested employee exposure records, but the written authorizations referred only to medical information. The Commission held that, outside the…
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…
L.R. Willson & Sons, Inc.
Perimeter safety-net citation vacated
L.R. Willson employees erected structural steel on upper floors of a Washington, D.C. building. OSHA cited the company for failing to install perimeter safety nets even though temporary floors were present below the work. The Commission held that the steel-erection fall-protection rules displaced…
D.A. & L. Caruso, Inc.
Willful trench-support violation affirmed
D.A. & L. Caruso employees worked in a 12-to-15-foot-deep trench without shoring, a trench box, or adequate sloping. Portions of the wall had collapsed the previous day while employees were inside, and water was entering near an existing sewer line. The judge vacated the citation after crediting…
Hamilton Die Cast, Inc.
Machine-guarding citation vacated for inadequate notice
Hamilton Die Cast used shields to protect employees from hot aluminum expelled by die-casting machines. During core-pull operations, the shield on one machine was open because the mechanism extended beyond the shield's normal travel area. Hamilton's president testified that OSHA officials had…
Vak-Pak, Inc.
Citations vacated for failure to prove commerce coverage
Vak-Pak manufactured swimming-pool filtration equipment with eleven employees in Florida. The company denied that its business affected interstate commerce, a prerequisite for coverage under the OSH Act. The Secretary relied on uncertain testimony about possible California chemical suppliers…
ASAMERA Oil (U.S.), Inc.
Hazardous-location electrical citation vacated
OSHA cited Asamera Oil for placing unapproved electrical equipment near potential hydrocarbon sources at its Colorado refinery. The judge vacated the citation after finding the definition of a Class I, Division 2 location unconstitutionally vague as applied. The Commission rejected the vagueness…
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…
Adams Steel Erection, Inc.
Safety-net and hard-hat citation items vacated
Adams Steel erected structural steel on a four-story building and used temporary flooring below employees working on perimeter beams. The Commission majority vacated a safety-net item because the steel-erection fall-protection rules in Subpart R governed the hazard and preempted the general…
Adams Steel Erection, Inc.
Fall-net and hard-hat items vacated
Adams Steel was the steel-erection subcontractor on a four-story construction project. The judge affirmed a safety-net item for ironworkers on perimeter beams and a head-protection item for five workers without hard hats. A Commission majority held that the steel-erection fall-protection standards…
Marmon Group, d/b/a Darling Store Fixtures, Inc.
Serious press-guarding violation affirmed as not willful
Marmon Group used pull-out devices to keep power-press operators' hands away from points of operation. After an operator's fingers were injured, testimony showed that an assistant foreman had not consistently checked whether the device was properly adjusted for each operator, despite records…
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Hazardous-material emergency settlement approved
OSHA cited Consolidated Rail Corporation over protective clothing and respirators for hazardous-material emergencies at its Edgemoor railyard. Under the settlement, the Secretary withdrew the protective-clothing citation. The respirator item was amended to a serious violation with a $500 penalty…
Clement Food Company
Stacking, pulley, and platform items affirmed; forklift and fan items vacated
Clement Food bottled food products at an Oklahoma City plant and contested several storage, forklift, machine, electrical, and fall-protection items. The Commission affirmed a citation for a leaning 15-foot stack of boxes and a serious pulley-guarding violation, reducing the pulley penalty to $70…
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…
Duquesne Light Company
Mixed asbestos rulings affirmed as nonwillful and nonserious
Duquesne employees removed asbestos-containing turbine insulation for several hours without required exposure controls, respirators, protective clothing, containers, lockers, or warning signs. The judge affirmed those violations as nonserious and nonwillful but vacated charges for failing to…
General Motors Corporation, GM Parts Division
Safety-shoe citations vacated
General Motors employees handled large numbers of automotive parts at warehouses in Massachusetts and Georgia, and foot injuries had occurred from falling parts and a forklift. GM required substantial shoes, encouraged safety shoes, and offered discounted purchases, but did not make safety-toe…
American Bakeries Company
Withdrawal motion need not be served on nonparty employees or unions
The Secretary moved to withdraw a citation against American Bakeries because the evidence was insufficient. The affected employees' union had received notice of the employer's contest but had not elected party status, and the Secretary did not serve the withdrawal motion on it. The Commission held…
Carpenter Contracting Corporation
Parking-garage perimeter citation vacated for lack of employee access proof
Carpenter Contracting installed large precast concrete sections while building a multilevel parking garage. OSHA cited unguarded deck perimeters adjacent to the bay under construction, where falls could range from 10 to 40 feet. The Commission accepted the judge's unchallenged finding that…
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…
A. Amorello & Sons, Inc.
Front-end loader backup-alarm citation vacated
OSHA cited A. Amorello & Sons after inspectors observed a front-end loader operating in reverse without hearing its backup alarm. The loader's engine housing blocked the operator's view only for about two feet directly behind the machine, while the exhaust pipe did not block the rear view. Chairman…
Spot-Bilt, Inc.
Locked former-exit citations vacated
Spot-Bilt permanently locked a door from its packing area to an interior courtyard, removed its exit sign and handle, and placed materials in front of it. The packing area had a separate outside exit and four doorways leading to nearby rooms with other exits. The Commission held that the exit rule…
L.M. Sessler Excavating & Wrecking, Inc.
Safety-belt citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A Sessler employee dismantling steel on the eighth floor worked from a ladder beside an open elevator shaft and fell into the shaft after a beam broke loose. He was not wearing a safety belt and died from the fall. The company president had issued belts, required their use, checked the equipment…
Dravo Engineers and Constructors
Hazard-instruction citation vacated
Dravo barricaded the swing-radius area around a crawler crane and instructed employees about the counterweight hazard. During a follow-up inspection, OSHA observed three employees cross the barricaded area and cited Dravo under the construction hazard-instruction standard. The judge found that…
Pan American World Airways, Inc.
Union challenge to settlement abatement methods rejected
OSHA cited Pan American World Airways because electromagnetic locks on 24 airport-building exit doors allegedly prevented free and unobstructed egress. The settlement required changes to the lock system, employee instruction, panic bars in two areas, a penalty, and a ten-week abatement period. The…
Lisbon Contractors, Inc.
Backhoe swing-radius citation vacated
Lisbon Contractors used a crawler backhoe to lift a trench box without barricading the machine's rotating superstructure. OSHA cited the crane swing-radius standard on the theory that using the backhoe for lifting transformed it into a crane. The Commission held that the standard and its…
Willamette Iron & Steel Company
Union objection to settlement classification rejected
Willamette Iron & Steel agreed to withdraw its contest of three citations and the associated penalties. The settlement changed one violation from willful to serious and reduced penalties for two violations, while requiring immediate abatement. The employees' union objected only to changing the…
Wachsberger Roofing and Sheet Metal Works, Inc.
Flat-roof safety-belt citation withdrawn
OSHA cited Wachsberger Roofing for not requiring safety belts during work on a flat roof. The Commission asked whether the general personal-protective-equipment standard was displaced by the more specific flat-roof fall-protection rule for built-up roofing. Because factual questions remained about…
Haysite, Division of Synthane-Taylor Corporation
Safety-shoe citation vacated
Haysite employees handled fiberglass sheets weighing up to 180 pounds. The company required sturdy shoes and required two or more employees to carry heavier sheets, but it did not mandate safety-toe footwear. The Commission held that the Secretary did not prove a reasonable person familiar with the…
Plum Creek Lumber Company
Noise and industrial-hygiene settlement approved
Plum Creek Lumber and the Secretary settled multiple citations involving conditions the employer represented had already been abated. Several willful items were changed to serious with a combined $1,000 penalty. Hearing-conservation items were changed from willful to other-than-serious with no…
Brown & Root, Inc.
Petition for review dismissed after appellate remand
The Fifth Circuit reversed the Commission's September 30, 1982 order and remanded with instructions to dismiss the petition for review. The Commission dismissed the petition as directed. It ordered the administrative law judge to terminate all proceedings consistently with the appellate mandate.
Dun-Par Engineered Form Co.
Excess serious-violation penalty vacated and remanded
The judge affirmed a serious fall-protection violation involving unguarded floors or, alternatively, missing safety belts. Although the Secretary had originally alleged a repeated violation, the judge classified it as serious and assessed a $1,620 penalty. The Commission held that the penalty…
Culberson Well Service
Employer's review petition dismissed for failure to respond
A judge found Culberson Well Service in serious violation of three shipyard standards and assessed a $600 penalty. The employer petitioned for review on whether the affected employees were exempt as crew members of a vessel. It then failed to file a brief or respond to the Commission's order asking…
Morrison-Knudsen Company, Inc.
Settlement agreement approved
The Commission approved the parties' stipulation and settlement agreement. The official release does not describe the citations, standards, settlement terms, penalties, or abatement measures. No further merits ruling appears in the release.
Cerro Copper Products Co.
Settlement remanded for service on employee representative
The record did not show that the settlement agreement had been served on the authorized employee representative. The representative had elected party status, making service mandatory under two Commission procedural rules. The Commission directed review and remanded to the administrative law judge…
New England Telephone and Telegraph Company
Citation withdrawal granted
The Secretary filed a notice withdrawing the citation against New England Telephone and Telegraph Company. The Commission treated the notice as a motion to withdraw and granted it. The official release does not identify the cited standard, alleged condition, penalty, or reason for withdrawal.
Custom Electrical Contractors, Inc.
Settlement order vacated and case remanded
The judge approved a settlement agreement between the Secretary and Custom Electrical Contractors. The employer then objected, alleging that it had been misled during the negotiations and had good cause to set the settlement aside. The Commission treated the employer's petition as a motion to…
Anthony Lester, Member I.A.M.A.W.
Employee abatement-date contest remanded
Employee Anthony Lester challenged citations and amendments negotiated informally by OSHA, Ladish Company, and Lester's union before any employer notice of contest was filed. The judge dismissed Lester's notice because the employees had an authorized union representative. The Commission held that…
The Horvitz Company
Serious excavation violation affirmed
Horvitz constructed sewers and catch basins in an excavation about seven feet deep. Before the hearing, the judge allowed the Secretary to amend the citation from the trenching standard to alternatively allege that the excavation lacked protection against moving ground under section 1926.651(c)…
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…
Syntron, Inc.
Metal saw guarding citation vacated
Syntron's metal cut-off saw had an unguarded unused portion of its blade, and the operator stood about a foot away while the saw automatically cut material held in a vise. After reviewing the record and a videotape of the machine, the Commission majority agreed with the judge that employees' hands…
A.R.A. Manufacturing Co.
Nonserious respirator violation affirmed
About 50 gallons of 1,1,1-trichloroethane spilled from an enclosed degreaser while two A.R.A. employees tried to stop the leak without suitable, readily accessible respirators. An open-surface degreaser was nearby and had also experienced spills. The Commission agreed with the judge that section…
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…
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.