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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VECCO Concrete Construction of D.C., Inc.
Tower-crane platform citation affirmed
VECCO used a tower crane whose operator's cab was about 98 feet above the ground. The four-foot-square access platform beside the cab had an unguarded side facing the crane mast, with a gap of about one to two feet. The judge vacated the citation because OSHA had not separately proved that the…
Gil Haugan, d/b/a Haugan Construction Company
Contested citations dismissed
Haugan Construction's nonlawyer president filed a notice stating that the company contested OSHA's proposed penalties. The company's later answer clarified that it had intended to contest both the citations and penalties. Applying Commission precedent, the judge treated the contest as covering the…
R. Colwill Excavating Company
Trench violation affirmed, penalty reduced
R. Colwill Excavating was removing a buried gasoline tank from a nine-foot-deep trench in unstable soil. The trench was not shored, sloped, or otherwise supported. The judge found that two workers entered without authorization, but affirmed the citation because the company's foreman and…
Texaco, Inc.
Serious excavation violation affirmed
Texaco excavated an eight-to-nine-foot-deep hole to repair a leaking water pipe at its Tulsa refinery. Water pumping caused the nearly vertical walls to slough and created large overhangs. Texaco built a two-stage trench box, but employees entered the excavation while only the lower stage was…
Combustion Engineering, Inc.
Commission affirms scaffold, ladder-access, and fall-protection violations at a power plant repair job
Combustion Engineering was doing metal repair work at the Navajo Generating Station in Page, Arizona, when an April 1976 OSHA inspection produced citations. The company contested three nonserious items and one serious item. Administrative Law Judge James A. Cronin Jr. sustained all of them…
Ray Evers Welding Co., Inc.
Steelworker fall citation affirmed
Two Ray Evers Welding employees worked on steel girders 18 to 24 feet above the ground without personal fall protection. The company challenged the personal protective equipment standard as vague and argued that steel-erection standards governed instead. The Commission rejected those arguments…
Martin Painting and Coating Co.
Power-line citation affirmed
Martin Painting contracted to paint a water tower near high-voltage power lines. An employee working from a boatswain chair contacted the lines and was electrocuted. Management knew the lines had to be deenergized before work near them, but did not tell the painters to wait until the planned…
Bristol Steel & Iron Works, Inc.
Steel-erection fall citation affirmed
Two Bristol employees stood on a 12-to-18-inch-wide wall about 16 feet above concrete stairs while rigging a float scaffold. They wore safety belts and lanyards but did not use them, and Bristol knew of the condition. The commissioners disagreed over whether the general personal protective…
Jake Heaton Erecting Company, Inc.
Commission affirms a fall-protection citation because the foreman worked unbelted twenty feet up
Jake Heaton Erecting Company was cited under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.28(a), the standard that requires employers to make workers wear appropriate personal protective equipment when exposed to hazards. A foreman knelt on a small platform about twenty feet above the ground, within a foot of the edge…
Western Waterproofing Company, Inc.
Roof fall-protection citations affirmed
Western Waterproofing employees resurfaced a roof about 61 feet high. Two employees spraying polyurethane foam worked near the roof edge without using available safety belts, lanyards, or lifelines. The Commission found that tied-off belts were effective and feasible, rejecting the company's claim…
Alberici-Koch-Laumand, A Joint Venture
Steel-erection fall citation vacated
Alberici-Koch-Laumand employees worked on steel beams about 61 feet high while maneuvering and bolting beams lifted by a crane. They wore safety belts but did not tie off because they needed mobility to avoid sudden movement of beams weighing up to 500 pounds. The crane had to lift beams through…
Mercer Well Service, Inc.
Commission affirms a general duty clause citation after a fatal fall from a rig, finding the employer's own safety rule was not enforced
A derrick man employed by Mercer Well Service died after falling from the elevator traveling block of a well servicing rig while riding it without a safety belt. The company had a written rule requiring derrick men to wear a belt when riding the elevators, but the worker had left his belt on top of…
Mayfair Construction Company
Sears Tower citation items split
Mayfair performed concrete construction during the Sears Tower project and contested eight nonserious citation items. The Commission vacated a temporary-wiring item because OSHA did not connect Mayfair employees to the specific wiring hazards. It also vacated a ladder-cleat item because the spacing…
Illinois Bell Telephone Company
Wiring item vacated, light item de minimis
Illinois Bell worked on telephone systems during construction of the Sears Tower. OSHA cited temporary wiring that was allegedly too low or insufficiently fastened and temporary lights that lacked guards. The Commission found no proof that Illinois Bell employees had access to the specific wiring…
Olson Construction Co.
Multi-employer guarding citations largely affirmed
Olson was a prime contractor on a state office-building project and controlled worksite safety, including the installation of guarding devices. OSHA cited missing guardrails, uncovered floor holes, unfilled stair pans, open-sided floors, and other fall hazards accessible to workers from several…
PASCO Masonry Company, Inc.
Commission affirms a scaffold citation and rejects the employer's search-and-seizure and jury-trial arguments
PASCO Masonry was cited for not complying with the scaffolding standard at 29 C.F.R. § 1926.451(a)(4), and Administrative Law Judge John J. Morris affirmed the citation. On review, the company did not dispute the safety facts but raised constitutional objections: that the inspection violated the…
Vappi & Company
Repeated violations left in effect
Vappi, a Massachusetts building contractor, was cited at a Boston worksite for temporary-building fire protection and open-sided-floor guarding violations. The company had twice violated the same standards at other Boston-area worksites. The judge classified the new violations as repeated because…
All-State Industries, Inc.
Flat-roof guardrail citation vacated
All-State employees were installing a flat roof when one employee fell 14.5 feet and was fatally injured. OSHA cited the company for failing to install perimeter guardrails and later sought to add an alternative allegation that employees should have used safety belts and lanyards. The Commission…
Crest Mechanical Construction Co.
Wall-opening citation affirmed
Crest was a plumbing subcontractor whose employees were exposed to unguarded wall openings on a multi-employer construction site. The company did not create or control the openings and argued that union and contractual limits prevented it from installing guards. The Commission held that a…
General Steel Fabricators
Six-item penalty reduced to $90
General Steel Fabricators received six nonserious citations involving cylinder transport, a portable ladder, crane safety measures, and tag lines. The company challenged only the judge's decision to assess $600 when OSHA had proposed a total of $90. The Commission confirmed that it may assess more…
Kast Metals Corp.
Welding and electrical violations affirmed
Kast Metals challenged welding and electrical citations, the inspection date, the lack of a closing conference, and the timing of the citations. The Commission held that the company waived its reasonable-promptness defense by raising it only after the hearing. It also held that failure to conduct a…
Simpson Roofing Company
Commission reinstates a contest that was dismissed for a missed hearing, finding good cause
Simpson Roofing Company contested two OSHA citations, but neither the company nor its attorney appeared at the scheduled hearing. After waiting about an hour, the Administrative Law Judge dismissed the notice of contest as a default under Commission Rule 62(a) and affirmed the citations. The…
A. Mazzetti & Sons, Inc.
Scaffold-guarding violation affirmed
Mazzetti employees worked at the top of a 30-foot scaffold that lacked guardrails and toeboards. The company argued that the workers were raising the scaffold, which temporarily made guarding impossible, rather than laying block. The Commission credited photographs, wet mortar, and testimony…
Newspaper Printing Corp.
Failure-to-abate penalty reduced
Newspaper Printing failed to meet the abatement deadline for press-platform railings, an emergency eyewash facility, and router drive-belt guards. The company had installed or ordered replacement equipment, but the old presses and routers were still used and the eyewash fountain had not arrived by…
Orville Larkan, d/b/a Larkan Steel Erectors
Fall-protection violation affirmed
Two Larkan Steel Erectors employees worked about 23 feet above the ground without fall protection, one near a roof edge and one on a steel beam. The Commission found the fall hazard obvious and credited the judge's finding that safety belts had not been provided at the site. The company's president…
Ford Motor Company
Willful elevator hazard affirmed
Ford used a freight elevator to move automobile bodies when its regular body lift was unavailable. To avoid production delays, the company repeatedly operated the freight elevator after removing rear-door interlocks or seals that state inspectors had required. After the elevator returned to…
General Steel Fabricators, Inc.
Scaffold penalty reduced to $150
A General Steel foreman worked on a scaffold about 15 feet above the ground. The scaffold had only a single manila rope around its open sides, with no midrails or toeboards. The Commission held that the rope did not provide protection equivalent to the required guarding. It rejected impossibility…
Daniel Construction Company
Unopposed judge decision affirmed
The Commission placed the case on review on its own initiative. Neither party objected to the judge's decision or otherwise expressed dissatisfaction with it. The Commission found no compelling public-interest issue requiring review. It therefore declined to address or modify the merits and…
Union Camp Corporation
Noise citation vacation affirmed
An OSHRC judge vacated a citation alleging that Union Camp failed to comply with the occupational noise-control standard. The company challenged four findings in the judge's decision but did not ask the Commission to reverse the result. The Commission declined to address issues that would not…
Williams Enterprises, Inc.
Bridge fall citation remained vacated
Williams employees performed steel work more than 25 feet above the ground on an unfinished bridge. Plank decking installed by the general contractor covered the spaces between girders, but an opening existed directly behind a Williams foreman. The Commission accepted the judge's credibility…
Building Products Company
Commission affirms the radial-saw lower-blade-guard charge and a total $150 penalty
Building Products Company manufactured wooden roof trusses using three radial saws whose employees had removed the lower blade guards. The company argued that the guards could eject wood chips during compound cuts and therefore created a separate hazard. The Commission held that the greater-hazard…
Cornell & Company, Inc.
Elevator-shaft and fire items affirmed
Cornell erected precast concrete walls at a Philadelphia hotel project. Four employees on the twentieth floor were about ten feet from partially uncovered elevator shafts, and the worksite lacked required fire extinguishers. The Commission found foreseeable employee access to those hazards, but not…
Jess Howard Electric Co.
Unopposed judge decision affirmed
The Commission placed this case on review on its own initiative. Neither party objected to the judge's decision or otherwise sought a change. The Commission identified no compelling public-interest issue requiring substantive review. It affirmed the decision without passing on or modifying its…
S & H Riggers & Erectors, Inc.
Unopposed judge decision affirmed
The Commission placed this severed case on review on its own initiative. Neither party challenged the judge's disposition. The Commission declined to conduct substantive review and affirmed the judge's decision. It stated that the ruling retains the significance of an unreviewed judge decision. The…
Abhe & Svoboda, Inc.
Unopposed judge decision affirmed
The Commission placed this case on review on its own initiative. Neither party objected to the judge's decision or otherwise expressed dissatisfaction. The Commission found no compelling public-interest issue requiring it to address or modify the merits. It affirmed the judge's decision while…
Pearson Electric Co., Inc.
Unopposed judge decision affirmed
The Commission placed the case on review on its own initiative after severing it from another docket. Neither party challenged the judge's disposition. The Commission therefore declined substantive review and affirmed the judge's decision. It stated that the decision retains the significance of an…
Erie Lackawanna Railroad Co.
Unopposed judge decision affirmed
The Commission placed this case on review on its own initiative. Neither party objected to the judge's decision or expressed dissatisfaction with it. The Commission found no compelling public-interest issue requiring substantive review. It therefore affirmed the decision without addressing or…
Serval Slide Fasteners, Inc.
Unopposed judge decision affirmed
The Commission placed this case on review on its own initiative. Neither party objected to the judge's decision or otherwise requested a change. The Commission found no compelling public-interest issue requiring substantive review. It affirmed the decision without addressing or modifying the…
Roberts & Thompson Co.
Trench citation vacation left undisturbed
A judge vacated a serious trench citation because OSHA had not proved that the soil was unstable or soft. During Commission review, two photographs that were important to the judge's soil finding could not be located. The Commission held that it could not fairly evaluate the decision without the…
Welsh Farms Ice Cream, Inc.
Exposed-wiring citation vacated
OSHA found an uncovered basement junction box with exposed 110-volt wires at a Welsh Farms restaurant. An independent electrical contractor had recently worked in the area and apparently failed to replace the cover. The judge found that employees had access to the electrical hazard but that Welsh…
Hensel Optical Co.
Commission affirms because the employer consented to the inspection, so no search warrant was needed
Hensel Optical Company challenged an OSHA inspection, arguing it was illegal because the inspector had no search warrant and had misrepresented his authority and intentions. The case reached the Commission on directed review to decide whether the Administrative Law Judge had correctly applied…
Eliason & Knuth Drywall Company
Drywall citation rulings left in effect
Eliason & Knuth received citations at two Omaha construction sites for housekeeping, scaffold, electrical, and guarding conditions. The Commission declined to review the judge's rulings on most items because no party objected and no compelling public-interest issue was shown. The disputed issue was…
G & G Tong Rental Company
Derrick fall and escape citations affirmed
G & G Tong used a 75-to-80-foot derrick to service an oil well. The derrickman rode the hoist hook without tied-off fall protection, and the derrick lacked both an emergency escape line and a ladder safety device. The company admitted the conditions violated the cited standards but argued that the…
Lisbon Contractors, Inc.
Trench violation reduced to nonserious
Lisbon Contractors was laying sewer pipe in Exton, Pennsylvania, where two employees worked in an unsupported trench with partially sloped sides. The trench was eight feet deep and five feet wide at the top, but the cited standard required a top width of five and one-half feet. The Commission…
Greyhound Lines, Inc.
Commission affirms citation for unguarded vehicle service pit and rejects a vagueness challenge to the standard
Greyhound Lines was cited for failing to cover or guard an open vehicle service pit, which OSHA treated as a violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.22(c). Administrative Law Judge John A. Carlson decided the case on stipulated facts, without a hearing, and found the violation. Greyhound sought Commission…
J & H Livestock Company; Karler Meat Packing, Incorporated
Penalty-only contests leave citations final
Karler Meat Packing received one serious and 26 nonserious citations, while J & H Livestock received three nonserious citations. Both companies filed notices stating that they contested only the penalties and did not contest the cited hazards or abatement periods. The Commission rejected their…
Reinhardt's Plumbing & Heating, Inc.
Hardhat citation affirmed
Reinhardt's Plumbing & Heating had employees working around the installation of an overhead heater. Workers below the heater could have been struck by channel-lock pliers, pipe, nuts, or bolts used in the installation. The company argued that skilled workers should decide whether hardhats were…
Fanning & Doorley Construction Co., Inc.
Willful trench violation affirmed
Fanning & Doorley was installing underground telephone ducts in Lincoln, Rhode Island, when an unshored trench wall collapsed and killed an employee. The Commission credited evidence that the trench was more than six and one-half feet deep and that the foreman knew the shoring requirement but…
Lumb Woodworking Company, Inc.
Repeated table-saw guarding violation affirmed
Lumb Woodworking operated three unguarded table saws and argued that the required guards would create a greater hazard. Its president said guards hid the blades, collected sawdust, jammed material, and could contribute to kickback. The Commission found that this testimony did not explain why a…
Linbeck Construction Corporation
Flat-roof railing citation vacated
Linbeck Construction was cited for failing to install perimeter railings on a flat roof under construction. The judge found railings infeasible but treated safety belts as the equivalent of a standard railing and affirmed the citation. The Commission reversed because the rule's reference to an…
FMC Corporation
Repeated shipyard housekeeping violation affirmed
FMC was constructing two oil tankers at its Portland, Oregon, shipyard when OSHA found tools, equipment, hoses, cords, and other objects obstructing walkways and passageways. The Commission held that the standard's exception for materials that were “in use” was an affirmative defense, and FMC did…
Hobart Corporation; Hobart Corporation (Troy Sunshade Division)
Press-brake guarding citations affirmed
Hobart Corporation and its Troy Sunshade Division operated nine press brakes without point-of-operation guards. The company argued that a more specific press standard displaced the cited machine-guarding rule and that the cited rule was vague and invalidly issued. The Commission rejected those…
Terra Motus Co., Inc.
Trench citation amended and affirmed
Two Terra Motus employees were laying pipe in a trench that was nearly ten feet deep and cut through soil consisting of 99.4 percent sand. The judge found the walls unstable and inadequately sloped but vacated because OSHA had cited an excavation standard rather than the applicable trench standard…
Emile M. Babst Co.
Subcontractor fall-protection citations reinstated
Emile M. Babst was a subcontractor whose employees encountered unguarded floor openings, an open-sided floor, and stairway hazards created and controlled by the prime contractor. The Commission held that a non-creating, non-controlling subcontractor may still be liable when its employees are…
Big '6' Drilling Company
Rig citations remanded for further evidence
Big '6' Drilling received eight nonserious citations and one serious general-duty citation after an inspection of an oil and gas drilling rig. Its pro se notice focused on the $805 proposed penalties, but its later answer requested a hearing about the inspection and penalties. The Commission…
Union Pacific Railroad Co.
Proposed FRA rules do not displace OSHA
Union Pacific faced a failure-to-correct matter and citations involving machine guarding, woodworking equipment, respiratory protection, posting, and other conditions. It argued that an advance notice of proposed Federal Railroad Administration rulemaking exempted it from OSHA requirements. The…
Wilson Freight Co.
Safety-footwear citation affirmed
Wilson Freight operated a terminal where employees moved large volumes of freight and sometimes manually handled objects weighing up to 50 pounds. The company required hard leather shoes but did not require safety-toe footwear, which only two of 24 employees regularly wore. The Commission held that…
Union Pacific Railroad Company
Railroad exemption claim rejected
Union Pacific stipulated that the cited physical conditions existed and that OSHA's proposed penalties were reasonable, but it argued that the Federal Railroad Administration displaced OSHA authority. The railroad relied on FRA safety standards covering other conditions, revised accident-reporting…
Graves Truck Lines, Inc.
Dock safety-footwear citation affirmed
Graves Truck Lines had 13 employees working on its inbound and outbound docks without steel-toe safety shoes during the inspection. Its records showed eight dock-area toe or foot injuries from falling objects over four years, and its safety supervisor believed steel-toe shoes would have prevented…
Gene L. Willison
Explosives transport and blasting violations affirmed
Contractor Gene L. Willison transported dynamite, blasting caps, and other materials together in a pickup with exposed spark-producing metal and without required explosives placards. The worksite also lacked blast-area warning signs, and the blaster gave no loud warning signal immediately before…
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.