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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ECCO High Frequency Electric Corp.
Unguarded energized bus bars violated electrical rule
ECCO operated an electrical test panel with three uninsulated copper bars energized at 110 to 220 volts. The bars were five to six feet above the floor, the surrounding area had no partitions, and a railing did not satisfy the guarding methods required by the adopted National Electrical Code…
Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.
Grounding or barricading violation affirmed
A Pennsylvania Power & Light crew was installing a utility pole near a 7.2-kilovolt line. The crew leader moved a digger truck's boom into the energized line while the truck was neither grounded nor barricaded, and he died in the resulting electrical incident. PP&L argued that its two-foot…
Plains Cooperative Oil Mill, Inc.
Screw-conveyor guarding violation affirmed
Plains Cooperative Oil Mill failed to adequately guard a screw conveyor in its cottonseed mill. The Commission adopted the judge's conclusion that the conveyor was a machine covered by the general machine-guarding rule and that Plains failed to comply. It emphasized that an employer violates the…
Farmers Export Company
Grain-elevator settlement conditionally approved
The Secretary and Farmers Export Company settled citations issued after a 1977 grain-elevator explosion, reducing proposed penalties from $126,000 to $8,000. Farmers Export had sold the reconstructed facility and said it could neither abate the cited conditions nor serve current affected employees…
Union Electric Company, Geraldine District
Energized-line clearance violation affirmed
An unprotected Union Electric employee came closer to an energized line than the minimum distance allowed by the construction electrical-clearance standard. The company's rule required rubber gloves when employees came within reach of energized conductors, but it did not state the specific minimum…
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…
Pennsylvania Electric Company
Coal-dust case remanded after late contest transmittal
OSHA issued Pennsylvania Electric Company a separate coal-dust citation after earlier safety citations, but the area office failed to transmit the company's notice of contest to the Commission for almost seven months. The judge treated the coal-dust citation as an invalid amendment of the earlier…
Union Boiler Company
Inadequately anchored railing violation affirmed
A removable steel railing gave way when an employee backed against it at a power plant, then fell 80 to 100 feet and struck two employees below, killing one and injuring the other. Physical evidence showed that only three of eight bolts held the railing and that it failed under far less than the…
Bethlehem Steel Corporation
Toxic-coating welding violation affirmed as nonserious
Bethlehem employees welded steel plates coated with an 80 percent zinc preservative inside tanker cargo spaces without air-line respirators or removal of the coating near the welds. The Commission held that the rule was a work-practice standard applying whenever welding was performed on a toxic…
StanBest, Incorporated
Flammable-liquid and spray-booth citations affirmed in part
StanBest manufactured fiberglass tubs and showers using acetone, resin, gel coat, and an organic peroxide in spray operations. The Commission rejected its challenge to the consensual OSHA inspection and held that its plant and spray booths were covered by the cited flammable-liquid and…
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…
National Electro-Coatings
Settlement agreement approved
The Secretary and National Electro-Coatings submitted a settlement agreement. The Commission approved the agreement. The official order does not state the citation terms, standards, or penalty disposition.
Federal Clearing Die Casting Company
Commission fee application dismissed during court review
Federal Clearing Die Casting sought attorney fees from the Commission after a judge suppressed OSHA inspection evidence and dismissed the citations. By that time, the Secretary had already petitioned the court of appeals to review the Commission order. The Commission held that the Equal Access to…
RSR Corporation
Willful lead-benefit violations affirmed
These consolidated cases address medical removal protection benefits, employee terminations, lead-exposure records, and removal from excessive lead exposure at RSR facilities. The Commission held that depositing wages in escrow did not satisfy the lead standard because removed employees had 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…
Brabham-Parker Lumber Company
Noise and hearing-program items remanded
The Commission vacated the judge's ruling on Brabham-Parker Lumber Company's alleged failure to use feasible noise controls because an intervening decision replaced the prior cost-benefit test with an achievable-controls test. It remanded for new evidence and reconsideration of technological and…
Pabst Brewing Company
Noise-control case remanded under new feasibility test
The Commission vacated the judge's ruling on Pabst Brewing Company's alleged failure to use feasible noise controls because an intervening decision replaced the prior cost-benefit test with an achievable-controls test. It remanded for additional evidence and reconsideration of technological and…
Zapata Ugland Drilling, Inc.
Settlement agreement approved
The Secretary and Zapata Ugland Drilling submitted a stipulation and settlement agreement. The Commission approved the agreement. The official order does not state the citation terms, standards, or penalty disposition.
Eve, Inc.
Settlement and dismissal approved on reconsideration
The parties submitted a stipulation settlement agreement and notice of dismissal. Upon reconsideration, the Commission approved them. The official order does not state the citation terms, standards, or penalty disposition.
Metal-Fab, Inc.
Recordkeeping and press-guarding settlement approved
The Secretary withdrew the request to classify three mechanical-power-press guarding violations as willful and accepted the judge's serious classification. Metal-Fab withdrew its contest to an injury-recordkeeping item and agreed that the judge's vacation of that item should be set aside. The…
Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Settlement approved
Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company and the Secretary entered into a stipulation and settlement agreement. The short Commission order does not identify the underlying citations, standards, penalty terms, or specific concessions. The Commission approved the parties' agreement, ending the…
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…
Carpenter Rigging Incorporated
Floor-opening citation vacated under the specific-standard rule
Carpenter Rigging was cited after an employee used a stairwell near an inadequately guarded opening with a possible 25-foot fall. The citation alleged a violation of the general construction rule for guarding open-sided floors. The Commission majority affirmed the judge's decision to vacate because…
J. T. C. Construction Company
Settlement agreement approved
J. T. C. Construction Company and the Secretary entered into a stipulation and settlement agreement. The short Commission order does not identify the underlying citations, standards, penalties, or settlement terms. The Commission approved the agreement and resolved the proceeding on the parties'…
Olin Corporation
Noise-control feasibility remanded for new evidence
Olin Corporation faced an alleged violation of the occupational noise standard's feasible-control requirement. After an intervening Supreme Court decision, the Commission abandoned its prior cost-benefit test and treated feasibility as technological and economic achievability. It vacated the…
Southwest Forest Industries
Noise-control allegation remanded under achievability test
Southwest Forest Industries faced an alleged violation of the occupational noise rule requiring feasible administrative or engineering controls. An intervening Supreme Court decision caused the Commission to replace its former cost-benefit analysis with an achievability test. The Commission vacated…
Carpenter Technology Corp.
Secretary allowed to withdraw review petition and citation
The Secretary asked to withdraw both the petition for discretionary review and the citation against Carpenter Technology Corp. The Commission granted the motion. The short order does not identify the cited standard, alleged hazard, or proposed penalty.
The Dolese Company
Noise-control violations remanded under new feasibility test
The Dolese Company faced alleged violations of the occupational noise standard's requirement for feasible administrative or engineering controls. An intervening Supreme Court decision led the Commission to replace its former cost-benefit approach with a test asking whether controls were…
Russell, Burdsall & Ward, Inc.
Noise-control feasibility issue remanded
The case concerned whether engineering controls required by the occupational noise standard were feasible. After an intervening Supreme Court decision, the Commission replaced its former cost-benefit test with a test asking whether controls were technologically and economically achievable. It…
Vanco Construction Company
Eye-protection violation affirmed for concrete chipping
Two Vanco employees chipped hardened concrete with a sledgehammer and an electric hammer without eye or face protection. Concrete chips and dust traveled as far as four feet, struck the employees' faces, and caused them to squint, flinch, and brush away debris. The Commission held that OSHA did not…
KIN-BUC, Inc.
Noise citation item remanded for feasibility evidence
Item 3 of citation 1 concerned the occupational noise standard's requirement for feasible administrative or engineering controls. An intervening Supreme Court decision led the Commission to replace its prior cost-benefit test with an achievability test. The Commission vacated the judge's ruling on…
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…
United States Steel Corporation
Coke-oven citations narrowed and penalties reduced
OSHA cited numerous conditions at U.S. Steel's two Fairless Hills coke-oven batteries shortly after a detailed coke-oven emissions standard took effect. The Commission vacated many engineering-control and training items because OSHA did not prove that U.S. Steel had a duty to install the controls…
J.L. Manta Plant Services Company
Coke-oven citations vacated and late amendment denied
J.L. Manta, a construction and maintenance contractor at a steel plant, was cited under the coke-oven emissions standard. The judge vacated the citations because that standard could not validly be applied to a non-coke-oven employer under the governing court decision. On review, the Secretary…
Purolator Sky Courier, Inc.
Citation withdrawal granted after procedural compliance
The Secretary sought permission to withdraw the citation against Purolator Sky Courier. The Commission received notice that the applicable procedural rules had been satisfied. It therefore granted leave to withdraw the citation. The short order does not identify the underlying standard, alleged…
Senco Products, Inc.
Air-contaminant mixture citation remanded for additive-effects evidence
Senco employees allegedly inhaled a mixture of methyl ethyl ketone, xylene, and acetone above the air-contaminant mixture limit. The judge dismissed the citation after finding that OSHA had improperly changed advisory source language into a mandatory rule. The Commission held that the controlling…
Farmers Cooperative Grain and Supply Company
Repeated grain-dust housekeeping violation affirmed
Farmers Cooperative Grain and Supply allowed grain dust to accumulate as deep as 20 inches in areas of its elevator, creating a fire and explosion hazard. Although OSHA originally cited the general duty clause, the Commission allowed amendment to the specific housekeeping standard because the same…
J.L. Foti Construction Company, Inc.
$500 scaffold penalty reinstated after court remand
A federal appeals court remanded the case with instructions to reinstate the administrative law judge's original civil penalty against J.L. Foti Construction. The underlying violation concerned the scaffold guardrail standard. Following the court's mandate, the Commission assessed the original $500…
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co.
Union participation issue remanded
The railroad withdrew its notice of contest after the Secretary reported that the dispute had been resolved. The affected employees' union had already elected party status, but the judge did not learn that fact until after affirming the citation and cancelling the hearing. The union maintained that…
AMOCO Oil Company
Settlement order left final after divided review
AMOCO and the Secretary reached a settlement, and the affected employees' union objected to parts of the abatement plan. The two participating commissioners disagreed over whether employee parties may challenge settlement terms beyond the length of the abatement period. Because the vote was…
Davis-McKee, Inc.
Serious trench-sloping violation affirmed
Two Davis-McKee employees operated a compactor in a trench more than 17 feet deep. One wall near a concrete caisson contained a substantial wedge of unsupported soil, and the opposite wall was steeper than the standard allowed. The Commission held that the caisson did not serve as shoring because…
Astra Pharmaceutical Products, Inc.
PPE penalty reduced after court remand
The First Circuit affirmed Astra's serious personal protective equipment violation but required more particularized penalty findings. A reactor overflow had sprayed an operator with toxic chemicals, causing serious injury and exposing rescuers; the Commission found the violation's gravity high…
Astra Pharmaceutical Products, Inc.
Chemical-protection penalty reduced to $500
A reactor overflow sprayed an Astra operator with toxic chemicals and seriously injured him, while other employees responding to the incident were also exposed. The serious violation arose because Astra required goggles, respirators, and gloves but not impervious full-body protection such as boots…
General Motors Corporation, Terex Division
Settlement remanded for union participation
General Motors and the Secretary reached a settlement, but the affected employees' union said it had no chance to participate in the negotiations and lacked proper notice of the filed proposal. The Commission held that a union with party status must be allowed meaningful participation in settlement…
Texaco, Inc.
Settlement order became final after divided Commission review
Texaco and the Secretary settled four citation items, but the employees' union objected to withdrawal of three items and sought to continue their prosecution. The two participating commissioners disagreed over whether employees with party status could raise settlement objections unrelated to the…
Babcock and Wilcox Company
Settlement agreement approved
Babcock and Wilcox Company and the Secretary entered into a stipulation and settlement agreement. The short Commission order does not identify the underlying citations, standards, penalties, or settlement terms. The Commission approved the agreement and resolved the proceeding on the negotiated…
Whirlpool Corporation
Settlement disapproved for failure to serve unions
Whirlpool and the Secretary submitted a settlement that reduced an alleged violation from serious to other than serious. The local and international unions objected, but the record showed only workplace posting, not formal service of the agreement on the employee representatives. The parties also…
Hearst Corporation, Pejepscot Paper Corporation
Settlement remanded for union objections
Hearst and the Secretary submitted a settlement that the judge approved after finding that the employees' union had adequate notice. The Commission held that the union must be told when a proposal has actually been filed for approval so it knows that its ten-day objection period has begun. Earlier…
General Motors Corporation, Fisher Body Division
Noise case dismissed without prejudice
OSHA alleged an other-than-serious noise violation at General Motors, but its counsel sought a postponement and broad additional discovery only one day before the hearing. The judge denied those requests and dismissed the case when the Secretary said the case could not proceed. The Commission found…
Whirlpool Corporation
Union allowed to challenge entire settlement
A Whirlpool employees' union objected to a settlement that changed an alleged violation from serious to other than serious. The judge ruled that the union could challenge any part of the settlement, not only the abatement period, and could present evidence on whether the agreement was appropriate…
Wisconsin Steel, Division of Envirodyne Co.
Settlement objections remanded for reasoned findings
Wisconsin Steel and the Secretary entered a settlement that the employees' union opposed. The judge heard the union's objections and overruled them, but did not explain whether he found the union lacked standing or rejected the objections on their merits. The Commission held that an authorized…
Standard Motor Products Company
Power-press guarding citation vacated for insufficient proof
A mechanical power press had a six-inch opening in its hairpin guard for ejecting finished parts, and a box covered that opening during OSHA's inspection. OSHA theorized that an employee might remove the box and reach through the opening to clear a jam or adjust stock. The Commission held that the…
Bechtel Power Corporation
Unsafe scaffold access affirmed after fatal fall
A Bechtel pipe welder fell 24 feet and died after reaching from a scaffold ladder toward a platform whose access was obstructed by an overhead beam. The Commission held that the mobile-scaffold rule requires genuinely safe and proper access, not merely the presence of a ladder. Bechtel could have…
Englehard Industries
Union objection remanded and companion settlement approved
The decision resolved two related Englehard proceedings. In docket 78-2880, the employees' union objected to a settlement provision reducing a violation from willful to serious. The Commission affirmed the judge's ruling that the union had a right to be heard and remanded that docket for further…
General Motors Corporation, Central Foundries Division
Welder deenergization violation affirmed
A General Motors employee was electrocuted while changing the polarity of a welder whose 440-volt input remained energized. The Commission defined the recognized hazard as electrical shock from energized parts during equipment servicing, rather than the precise sequence that caused the fatality. GM…
Mobil Oil Corporation
Employee settlement objections must be considered
Mobil and the Secretary settled a general duty citation concerning employees who manually gauged petroleum from floating-roof tanks. The employees' union objected that ten-minute radio checks during a less critical period were inadequate and sought continuous visual contact with a second worker…
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Noise, eye protection, and respirator violations affirmed
A Conrail shop employee worked near a running locomotive at about twice the allowable noise exposure without hearing protection despite prior requests for it. The Commission held that EPA and Federal Railroad Administration noise rules did not preempt OSHA from requiring personal protective…
Dillingham Tug & Barge Corporation
Seaman fatality citation vacated under Coast Guard preemption
A Dillingham seaman died after falling from a mooring buoy and being crushed between the buoy and a tugboat on navigable waters. OSHA issued a general duty citation, but Dillingham argued that Coast Guard regulation displaced OSHA authority over seamen's working conditions. The Commission held that…
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.