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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Tonawanda Coke Corporation
Citation item withdrawn
A judge had affirmed item 4 of a serious citation against Tonawanda Coke, and the Commission granted review of the employer's challenge. After reconsidering the record, the Secretary concluded that further adjudication was unwarranted and withdrew the item. The Commission treated the notice as a…
C.F. & I. Steel Corporation
Coke-oven citation withdrawn and dismissed
A judge had affirmed a coke-oven emissions citation against C.F. & I. Steel, and the Commission granted the employer's petition for review. The Secretary later learned that the company had permanently stopped operating the coke-oven facility and determined that further adjudication was unwarranted…
Singer Co., American Meter Division
Secretary's review petition withdrawn
The judge affirmed several serious violations, including two that the Secretary had alleged were willful. The Secretary obtained Commission review of whether those two violations should be characterized as willful, but later concluded that the record contained insufficient evidence of willfulness…
Keco Industries, Inc.
Unapproved electrical device reduced to de minimis
Keco used an unapproved light-socket “pigtail” holding a fuse inside a telephone switch-gear circuit-breaker box. The judge affirmed a serious violation and assessed $320. The Commission agreed that using unapproved equipment technically violated section 1910.303(a), but found the possible fire or…
Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc.
Daily crane brake-system inspection required
Keystone's daily check of overhead-crane air and hydraulic brake systems consisted only of pumping the brake pedal for hardness. The Commission upheld the citation because that test could miss leaks and deterioration elsewhere in the system. It held that the standard requires an effective daily…
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…
Texas Masonry, Inc.
Late notice transmission did not require dismissal
The Secretary waited roughly 45 days to transmit Texas Masonry's notice of contest while an OSHA supervisor pursued settlement, despite a seven-day Commission rule. The judge refused to dismiss the scaffold citations. On interlocutory appeal, the Commission affirmed because the delay reflected…
Anderson Excavating and Wrecking Company
Life-jacket item affirmed, poster item vacated
Anderson employees worked on a barge beside water at least five or six feet deep without enough life jackets available. The Commission affirmed that violation and its $200 penalty over Chairman Rowland's dissent. It vacated a separate OSHA-poster item because the Secretary did not prove OSHA had…
A.A. Beiro Construction Company, Inc.
EAJA application partially reinstated
The judge dismissed Beiro's entire Equal Access to Justice Act fee application because appellate review of the underlying Commission order was pending. Beiro and the Secretary agreed that only two citation items were before the court of appeals. The Commission held that its rule requires dismissal…
Gerard Chimney Company
Willful items settled as repeated violations
The Secretary amended two citation items from willful to repeated violations: one under section 1926.28(a) and one covering two subitems under section 1926.451(a)(4). Gerard Chimney withdrew its notice of contest, represented that the conditions had been and would remain abated, and agreed to pay…
ASARCO, Incorporated
Settlement approved
The Commission approved the parties' settlement agreement in the two consolidated ASARCO dockets. The public release does not describe the cited conditions, standards, penalties, settlement terms, or the reasons the parties resolved the cases. It therefore supplies no substantive merits ruling…
Novak & Company, Inc.
Floor-hole citation vacated for lack of knowledge
Two Novak plumbing employees walked within three feet of unguarded floor holes at a changing construction site. The general contractor controlled the openings, and union rules prevented Novak from installing rails or covers itself. Although Novak could have reported the condition or removed its…
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…
Turner Construction Company of Texas
Fall-protection citations withdrawn
The Commission allowed the Secretary to withdraw the citation and complaint alleging violations of the construction personal-protective-equipment and safety-net standards. The short public order does not describe the worksite conditions, proposed penalties, reasons for withdrawal, or any merits…
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…
Skydyne, Inc.
Hydraulic-press guarding subitems vacated
Two Skydyne hydraulic presses lacked point-of-operation guards, but the operators did not hold the fiberglass during the molding cycle; a vacuum, retaining ring, and clamps kept it in place. The compliance officer had not observed the machines running and did not establish the operators' hand…
PPG Industries, Inc.
Citation and complaint withdrawn
PPG Industries and the Secretary jointly moved to withdraw the citation and complaint. The Commission granted their motion and ended the case. The short public release does not identify the cited standard, workplace condition, proposed penalty, reason for withdrawal, or any settlement terms, and it…
American Petrofina Company of Texas
Review petitions dismissed on remand
The court of appeals vacated an earlier Commission order that had denied the Secretary's motion to vacate directions for review in these consolidated cases. The court remanded with instructions to dismiss the review petitions. The Commission followed that mandate and dismissed both petitions. The…
Georgia Power Company
Aerial-lift citation item vacated on court mandate
Acting under an order from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Commission vacated the part of its earlier decision that had affirmed citation 1, item 1A(b), concerning the aerial-lift standard at section 1926.556(a)(1). The short public order does not restate the…
Con-Lin Construction Company
Notice of contest reinstated
The judge affirmed a serious citation after finding Con-Lin's written notice of contest untimely. The record showed, however, that during the statutory contest period Con-Lin attended an informal conference, disputed the Secretary's position, and regarded that action as contesting the citation. The…
Reda Pump Company, Division of TRW, Inc.
Safety-shoe item settled
A judge affirmed a personal-protective-equipment citation based on Reda Pump's failure to require engineers working with hourly employees during pump assembly and disassembly to wear safety shoes. After obtaining Commission review, the company adopted the safety-shoe requirement, represented that…
Coeur d'Alene Tribal Farm
OSHA Act held inapplicable to tribal enterprise
OSHA inspected grain-storage facilities operated as a commercial enterprise of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe on reservation land and issued thirteen citation items. The Commission held that applying the Occupational Safety and Health Act to the tribal farm would impermissibly intrude on tribal…
Capital City Excavating
Willful trenching case remanded for penalty
The Sixth Circuit held that Capital City Excavating willfully violated the trenching standard at section 1926.652(b) and returned the case to the Commission to assess an appropriate civil penalty. The Commission in turn remanded the matter to the chief judge for reassignment because the original…
Mobil Oil Corporation
Serious pit-guarding violation not willful
Mobil replaced an unsafe guardrail around a refinery wax pit with a wall, but a six-foot gap remained after a contractor's cost overrun. The pit supervisor requested completion, warned employees, and sometimes installed ropes, although those measures did not fully eliminate exposure to the slippery…
Atec Contracting Corporation
Excavation items settled as nonserious
Atec was originally cited for three serious excavation and trenching violations with $1,440 proposed. The judge vacated the section 1926.652(b) item, affirmed the other two, and assessed $960. While review of the affirmed items was pending, Atec agreed to withdraw its petition and maintain…
American Cyanamid Company
Review petitions withdrawn and settlement approved
The Secretary, the authorized employee representative, and American Cyanamid withdrew their respective petitions for discretionary review. The company agreed to pay $100 for citation 2, item 1c, and $1,000 for item 1e, and represented that both conditions had been abated. The Commission approved…
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…
Atlanta Forming Co., Inc.
Construction activity satisfied commerce coverage
Atlanta Forming challenged only whether it was an employer engaged in a business affecting interstate commerce. The Commission held that construction of a multistory commercial building belongs to a class of activity affecting commerce and that construction materials and services have an interstate…
Mission Viking, Inc.
Citations vacated as moot after withdrawal
While Mission Viking's case was under judicial review, the Secretary withdrew every citation issued to the company, making the controversy moot. The Fifth Circuit directed the Commission to vacate its prior order. On remand, the Commission set aside its April 30, 1981 order that had affirmed the…
Georgia Pacific Corporation
Secretary's dismissal approved
The Commission approved the Secretary's notice dismissing the Georgia Pacific proceeding. The brief public order does not identify the OSHA standard, cited workplace condition, procedural reason for dismissal, proposed penalty, or any terms associated with ending the case. It supplies no…
Shell Oil Company
Contest and review petition withdrawn
Shell Oil asked to withdraw both its notice of contest and its petition for discretionary review. The Commission granted the request, ending the contested proceeding. Because no review brief was then needed, Shell's alternative request for more time to file that brief became moot. The public order…
Hardaway Constructors, Inc.
Marine-construction item withdrawn
Citation item 5 originally alleged a nonserious violation of section 1918.13(a) and was later amended to section 1926.605(a)(1), with no penalty proposed. The judge vacated the item, and the Secretary obtained discretionary review. In the settlement, the Secretary withdrew both the review petition…
I.T.O. Corporation of Ameriport
Longshore hardhat citation vacated
OSHA alleged that six longshoremen, including their foreman, worked in a vessel hold without hardhats. If the foreman's testimony was credited, he had just arrived, lacked knowledge of the two uncovered employees, and immediately corrected them. If OSHA's version was credited, I.T.O. still rebutted…
Federal Clearing Die Casting Company
Four citations remanded for merits hearing
The Seventh Circuit remanded Federal Clearing Die Casting's case to the Review Commission. Acting under that appellate order, the Commission returned the proceeding to an administrative law judge for a hearing on the merits of all four citations. The brief public release does not identify the cited…
Emerson Electric Company, Emerson Electric Motor Division
Amended crane item remanded for defenses
In an earlier decision, the Commission amended serious citation item 1 to allege a crane violation under section 1910.179(n)(3)(vi), conditionally affirmed it, and assessed $300 while allowing Emerson to seek reopening. Emerson requested a hearing. The Commission treated that filing as a motion to…
Schiavone Construction Co., Inc.
Citation withdrawn for lack of evidence
While the case was pending before the Commission on review of the judge's decision, the Secretary agreed to withdraw citation 1 because the evidence was insufficient to sustain the allegation. Schiavone agreed to bear its own costs and attorney's fees and confirmed service of the agreement on…
Phelps Dodge Corporation
Settlement approved
The Commission approved the parties' stipulation and settlement agreement in the Phelps Dodge proceeding. The short public release does not reproduce the agreement or identify the cited standard, workplace condition, violation classification, proposed or agreed penalty, abatement terms, or the…
Georgia Pacific Corporation, Packaging Division
Withdrawal conditionally approved
The Secretary sought to withdraw the case against Georgia Pacific Corporation's Packaging Division. The Commission conditionally affirmed the judge's order granting the withdrawal. Approval depended on proof that the dismissal notice was served on employee representatives and posted for…
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Citation vacation conditionally approved
The Secretary sought to vacate the citation and proposed penalties against the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. The Commission conditionally affirmed the judge's order granting that request. Approval depended on proof that the dismissal notice was served on employee representatives and…
Ceres Terminals, Inc.
Citation withdrawal conditionally approved
The Secretary sought to withdraw the citation and proposed penalties against Ceres Terminals, Inc. The Commission conditionally affirmed the judge's order granting that request. Approval depended on proof that the notice was properly served on employee representatives and posted for unrepresented…
Bratton Furniture Manufacturing Company
Unguarded overhead router citation affirmed
OSHA cited Bratton Furniture Manufacturing Company because an overhead router was operated without its ring guard or another point-of-operation safeguard. The Commission held that the Secretary did not have to prove that guarding was feasible and that Bratton failed to establish an impossibility…
New England Telephone and Telegraph Company
Pole-guard item vacated and glove item affirmed
Two telephone-company linemen replaced a wet utility pole near energized conductors without insulating the pole, and one lineman was seriously injured by electrical shock while lashing the old and new poles together without rubber insulating gloves. The Commission vacated the pole-guard item…
Phelps Dodge Corporation
Uncompensated arsenic examinations violated medical-surveillance rule
Phelps Dodge offered inorganic-arsenic medical examinations outside employees' working hours without paying for their time or extra transportation expenses. The Commission held that the standard's requirement to provide examinations without cost covers both nonworking time spent at the examination…
United States Steel Corp.
Lead-benefit violation affirmed but repeat classification removed
United States Steel stipulated that an employee removed from lead exposure was entitled to $973.27 in medical removal protection benefits. The Commission held that the employee was entitled to full party status because his union had not appeared in the proceeding, overruling prior precedent that…
Hocking Valley Steel Erectors, Inc.
Attorney-fee application denied
Hocking Valley Steel Erectors sought more than $14,000 in attorney fees and expenses after the Secretary withdrew a fall-protection citation during Commission review. The company had prevailed, but the Equal Access to Justice Act allowed fees only if the government's position lacked substantial…
Ohio-Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Company
Cotton-dust citation remanded for a merits hearing
OSHA cited Ohio-Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Company for excessive raw cotton dust, inadequate controls, and an inadequate respiratory-protection program. The company argued that an older cotton-dust standard had been superseded by a newer standard or that it lacked fair notice the older rule…
ITT Grinnell Corp.
Abatement extension granted and failure-to-correct notice vacated
ITT Grinnell requested more time to install controls for silica dust at two foundry areas, while the Secretary demanded additional medical surveillance during the extended period. The Commission held that an employer seeking more time can be required to use appropriate interim protections even when…
Otis Elevator Company
Noise case remanded for further discovery
OSHA alleged that excessive noise at 15 locations in Otis Elevator Company's foundry required feasible administrative or engineering controls. The Secretary's expert completed one day of discovery but concluded that more inspection time was needed, and the judge denied a continuance before…
Williams Enterprises, Inc.
Willful steel-erection fall violations affirmed in part
Williams Enterprises employees repeatedly installed and carried metal decking at heights up to 58 feet without temporary floors, safety belts, or nets, despite repeated OSHA warnings and an imminent-danger notice. The Commission held that general construction standards can supplement steel-erection…
General Motors Corporation, Delco Products Division
Noise case remanded for discovery inspection
OSHA cited General Motors' Delco Products facility under the occupational noise standard, but the judge denied the Secretary's request for a discovery inspection and later vacated the item for lack of proof that engineering controls were feasible. The Commission held that the inspection was…
Genesee Brewing Company
Brewery noise case remanded for discovery
OSHA cited Genesee Brewing Company under the occupational noise standard after inspecting bottle and can line operations at its brewery. The judge repeatedly denied the Secretary's request to have a noise-control expert inspect the brewery, then vacated the citation because the Secretary had not…
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…
Emerson Electric Company, Emerson Electric Motor Division
Molten aluminum and eye protection items affirmed in part
Emerson Electric used a monorail system to move pots of molten aluminum and also had employees hand-dip parts into an acidic resin. The Commission amended the molten-aluminum item from the general duty clause to the overhead-crane rule requiring operators to avoid carrying loads over people, then…
Seaboard Foundry, Inc.
Silica and respirator violations affirmed, control issue remanded
OSHA measurements showed five foundry employees exposed to silica dust at three to 15 times the permissible limit while ventilation and wheelabrator controls were not working properly. The Commission held that one day of valid measurements established overexposure and that Seaboard did not rebut…
Clarence M. Jones, d/b/a C. Jones Co.
Ladder, protective equipment, and posting violations affirmed
Clarence M. Jones was renovating an apartment building with workers under a foreman's supervision. OSHA cited defective ladders, the failure to use head and eye protection, and the failure to post the required OSHA notice. The Commission held that Jones was an employer covered by the Act, his local…
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…
Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England Railroad Company
Head and eye protection citation vacated
Railroad employees briefly entered the track level beneath a steel-plant blast furnace to position railcars and did not wear hard hats or safety glasses with side shields. OSHA alleged that solidified material or debris could fall or be dislodged by passing railcars. The Commission held that the…
Gulf Oil Corporation
Walkway and respirator-training items vacated
OSHA cited Gulf Oil Corporation for an obstructed refinery walkway and for inadequate training of employees who used half-mask respirators. The Commission held that the cited aisle standard applied only where employees operated mechanical handling equipment, which the Secretary had not shown, and…
Tippens Steel Erection Company
Twelve-foot fall-protection citation vacated
Three Tippens employees installed and welded roof-support joists about 12 feet above a concrete floor without safety belts, nets, scaffolds, or temporary flooring. The Commission agreed that the work was steel erection, and two Commissioners concluded that the general personal protective equipment…
Georgia Power Company
Aerial-lift design item affirmed and two items vacated
A Georgia Power lineman was seriously burned when an exposed metal jibholder on an aerial lift contacted an energized line. The Commission held that the aerial-lift standard validly required employers to acquire equipment designed under sound engineering principles, and that the jibholder's design…
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.