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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Wisconsin Electric Power Company
Ungrounded line truck violation affirmed
A Wisconsin Electric crew used a boom-equipped line truck to transfer energized overhead wires to a new utility pole. The truck and attached trailer were neither grounded nor barricaded, and the truck became energized when an exposed part of the boom contacted a primary wire. A lineman on the…
Hoerner Waldorf Corp.
Forklift citation vacated after witness exclusion
OSHA cited Hoerner Waldorf for allegedly operating two powered industrial trucks with defective brakes or a defective horn and for inadequate operator inspection training. Before the hearing, the judge ordered both parties to exchange witness and exhibit information in writing. The company…
Crain Electric, Inc.
Eight construction items vacated for lack of exposure proof
Crain Electric was an electrical subcontractor on a large power-station construction project with many other contractors. OSHA cited temporary wiring conditions, floor openings, floor holes, and unguarded elevated floors and proposed penalties totaling $145. The compliance officer did not observe…
Burlington Northern Incorporated
Railroad exemption rejected
OSHA cited Burlington Northern for seven nonserious violations at a Nebraska railroad facility. The railroad stipulated that no Department of Transportation rule covered the specific working conditions and admitted the violations if OSHA had jurisdiction. The Commission relied on earlier decisions…
Chicago, West Pullman and Southern Railroad Company
Railroad exemption rejected
OSHA cited Chicago, West Pullman and Southern Railroad for failing to comply with 30 safety and health standards at a Chicago workplace. The parties resolved all issues except whether federal railroad regulation exempted the company from OSHA jurisdiction. The Commission relied on earlier decisions…
Underhill Construction Corp. and DIC Concrete, trading as DIC-Underhill, A Joint Venture
Construction violations upheld with penalty reductions
DIC-Underhill was erecting concrete high-rise structures at a large New York construction site. A serious guardrail citation and $1,000 penalty became final because the company's notice of contest referred only to a later six-item nonserious citation. The judge merged a duplicate nonserious…
Par Construction Company, Inc.
Unsupported trench violations affirmed
Three Par Construction employees worked in a trench that was more than five feet deep and dug in loose, unstable soil. The trench had not been shored, braced, sloped, or otherwise supported, and the company had not provided an adequate exit. The judge affirmed a serious trench-support violation…
D. Federico Co., Inc.
Trench exit and spoil-pile items affirmed
D. Federico was installing a sewer in a 14-foot-deep trench where an employee worked inside an open-topped wooden manhole chamber. The Commission held that soil stored within two feet of the trench exposed the employee to a hazard and that neither an eight-foot ladder nor a loose backfill ramp…
Beldon Roofing & Remodeling Co.
Flat-roof guardrail citation vacated
Beldon Roofing was reroofing a flat-roofed building, and an employee filled and carried buckets of hot tar near an unguarded roof edge. OSHA cited the company under the open-sided floor and platform guardrail standard and proposed a $500 penalty. The judge initially affirmed the item as nonserious…
Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
Railroad exemption rejected
OSHA cited Southern Pacific for violating 12 safety and health standards at its Avondale, Louisiana workplace. The railroad admitted the alleged violations and the penalty factors. Its contested issue was whether federal railroad regulation created an industry-wide exemption from OSHA jurisdiction…
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
Meat-cutter PPE citations vacated
OSHA cited A&P supermarkets because meat cutters did not use metal mesh gloves and, in two stores, did not use protective aprons. The judge found that mesh gloves were not customary in retail meat departments, could interfere with handling meat, and raised sanitation and other practical concerns…
Underhill Construction Corp. and DIC Concrete Corp., trading as DIC-Underhill, A Joint Venture
Safety-belt and hard-hat items upheld
Two DIC-Underhill employees grouted elevator sills near an unguarded shaft without properly secured safety belts. The Commission affirmed the personal-protective-equipment violation but vacated a separately pleaded lifeline-use provision because that provision did not require employees to use…
Frank Briscoe Company, Inc.
Construction citations partly upheld and partly vacated
Frank Briscoe was the general contractor for a multilevel building project where OSHA cited housekeeping, floor-opening, scaffold, ladder, fall-protection, and hard-hat conditions. The Commission vacated a general personal-protective-equipment item because OSHA did not identify or prove a feasible…
Republic Granite Company, Inc.
Silica-control citation vacated for lack of feasible controls
Republic Granite's monument-shaping process generated silica dust well above the permissible airborne limit. Its shaper wore an approved supplied-air respirator that the record found fully protected him from breathing the dust. OSHA argued that the company first had to use a ventilated shaping…
Wallace L. Boldt General Contractor, Inc.
Scaffold citation upheld with reduced penalty
An employee of Wallace L. Boldt worked on a narrow mobile-scaffold platform about 18 feet above a concrete floor without guardrails or toeboards. The judge found that the scaffold was under the general contractor's control and that its employee was exposed to a fall capable of causing serious…
Agrico Chemical Co.
One-sided runway guarding found insufficient
Agrico employees used elevated runways beside fertilizer conveyors and hopper-car tracks that were guarded on only one side. The runways were 40 to 49 inches wide and were used for operating, cleaning, checking, and maintaining the equipment. The judge agreed that they were special-purpose runways…
Edward Hines Lumber Co.
Mixed sawmill citations resolved with $510 penalty
OSHA cited Edward Hines Lumber after inspecting its large Oregon sawmill complex, alleging numerous machine-guarding, conveyor, walkway, ladder, and power-transmission violations. The judge vacated many items because the cited standards were advisory or inapplicable, the machinery was guarded by…
Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
Railroad exemption ruling reversed
Southern Pacific admitted ten alleged safety violations at a Houston railroad facility but argued that the railroad industry was outside OSHA's authority under the statutory exemption for working conditions regulated by another federal agency. The judge accepted that argument and vacated the…
Weyerhaeuser Company
Noise-standard ruling reversed and remanded
Weyerhaeuser's Honolulu corrugated-box plant exposed a single-facer operator to noise above the limits in OSHA's occupational-noise standard. The company required hearing protection and had investigated a range of engineering controls, while the judge vacated the citation after declaring § 1910.95…
Chopko Construction Company
Default affirmed after repeated nonresponse
Chopko Construction failed to answer the Secretary's complaint and did not respond to the chief judge's order to show cause, so the judge affirmed the citation and proposed penalty by default. The company later asked that its notice of contest be treated as its answer. The Commission directed…
Frank Briscoe Company, Inc.
Fall-protection item affirmed and ladder citation amended
Frank Briscoe employees worked near unguarded building edges, including one employee standing on a ladder beside the open third-floor perimeter without a tied-off safety belt. The Commission vacated the roof-edge citation under then-current precedent holding that § 1926.500(d)(1) did not apply to…
Cornell & Co., Inc.
Safety-belt citation affirmed for 100-foot steel work
Cornell employees bolted steel on a flare derrick 100 feet above ground without tying off their safety belts, and no floor or net would break a fall. Before the hearing, OSHA replaced inapplicable temporary-floor and safety-net allegations with a charge under the personal-protective-equipment and…
Stephenson Enterprises, Inc.
Eight plant-safety items reinstated
Stephenson Enterprises manufactured men's and boys' pants at a Georgia plant cited for several housekeeping, fire-protection, electrical, storage, machine-guarding, and sewing-machine conditions. The judge vacated the contested items after finding OSHA's evidence too conclusory. The Commission held…
Circle Industries Corp.
Unguarded-floor citation reinstated
Circle Industries was a carpentry subcontractor on a New York City apartment project where floor perimeters lacked guardrails. Its employees worked within five feet of those edges while installing door bucks, although the compliance officer did not see them exposed during the inspection. The…
Process Engineering, Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in these consolidated Process Engineering cases by referring to its decision in Francisco Tower Service. The short order did not address the underlying citation, standards, facts, or penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that two…
National Rolling Mills Co.
Open-pit item reduced to de minimis
National Rolling Mills operated a steel mill where an employee sometimes stepped across a 23-inch-wide pit to guide a coil onto a spindle. The Commission held that the open-pit standard applied because the coil buggy and tracks did not fully occupy the opening, and the standard itself presumed a…
Wood Products Company
Timely oral contest accepted and case remanded
Wood Products Company orally told OSHA within the 15-working-day deadline that it intended to contest its citation and proposed penalties. The owner had several contacts with the area director, did not initially understand that the notice had to be written, and mailed written confirmation within no…
Utilities Line Construction Company, Inc.
Line-status violation affirmed, clearance item vacated
Utilities Line Construction was upgrading a Massachusetts power line when a journeyman lineman contacted a 2,400-volt line and was electrocuted. The crew had noticed the new line but did not determine whether it was energized, even though it could have checked within minutes. The Commission…
Brand Insulations, Inc.
Four construction violations and increased penalties affirmed
Brand Insulations supplied and installed insulation at an Ohio power-plant construction project. The violations involved debris outside a fabrication shop, materials obstructing narrow passageways, employees using a high runway plank with only a rope rail on one side, and employees working from…
Spector Freight System
Citation vacated after OSHA withdrew for lack of evidence
OSHA sought to withdraw its citation and complaint against Spector Freight System because it lacked enough evidence to carry its burden of proof. The judge treated OSHA's notice as a motion because the agency could not end the case unilaterally. He found no purpose in continuing once OSHA…
Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Co.; Stone & Webster Engineering Corp.; Dravo Corp.
Reactor-building citations vacated
The three contractors were building an 80-foot-wide, open-top reactor structure at the Shoreham Nuclear Power Station. OSHA cited them for bringing gas cylinders into a confined space, failing to provide ventilation for welding in a confined space, and lacking two means of egress. The judge found…
Penrod Drilling Company
General duty citation vacated over hazard recognition
Penrod employees were preparing to dismantle an oil derrick and worked from a girder about 125 feet above the ground without safety belts. One employee stepped onto the bridle assembly, the sling broke, and he fell to his death. OSHA alleged a serious general duty clause violation and proposed a…
Arvin Millwork Co.
No penalty assessed for alleged failure to abate
An earlier uncontested citation alleged that Arvin Millwork failed to guard a platform 30 feet above ground. OSHA later alleged that the company had failed to abate that condition and challenged several evidentiary rulings by the judge. During Commission review, however, OSHA expressly stated that…
Universal Terminal & Transport, a Division of Universal Maritime Service Corp.
Unsecured hatch-beam citation affirmed
Universal Terminal & Transport conducted longshoring work at the Port of New York beneath a one-ton hatch beam whose locking devices were broken. The company tied the beam with manila rope, but a crane cable snagged it and pulled it from its sockets, causing it to fall into the hatch and inflict…
Wichita Precision, Division of Wellman Industries, Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Wichita Precision case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority…
Communication Cable-Laying Co., Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Communication Cable-Laying case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the…
Grand Union Co.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Grand Union Store #1830 case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent states that the judge had vacated all…
Wildman Logging Company
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Wildman Logging case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority…
Hawthorne Steel Co.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Hawthorne Steel case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority…
Dan J. Brutger, Inc
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Dan J. Brutger case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority could…
Williams Enterprises, Inc.
Counterweight case reversed and remanded
Williams Enterprises was assembling a crane for a Library of Congress construction project when a 43,000-pound counterweight left standing on an inclined street toppled into a second counterweight. The two weights trapped and killed a foreman and an oiler. OSHA alleged a willful general duty clause…
Ted Breihan dba Ted Breihan Electric
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Ted Breihan Electric case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The release says the judge assessed no penalty, but it does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, or citation disposition. Commissioner Moran dissented…
Champlin Petroleum Co.
Flat-roof citation vacated
A Champlin employee worked at the edge of a service-station roof while removing a sign without a safety line or safety belt. OSHA cited Champlin for a serious violation of the construction perimeter-guarding standard, and the judge affirmed that item. The Commission vacated the citation because its…
Boise Cascade Corporation
Radial-saw guarding citation affirmed
Boise Cascade operated four radial saws at its Springfield, Virginia workplace without lower-blade guards that automatically adjusted to the stock being cut. The parties stipulated to those conditions, so the only disputed issue was whether the radial-saw guarding rule had been validly adopted as…
Sloan Roofing Company
Flat-roof guarding citation vacated
Sloan Roofing employees installed roofing material on a flat roof at a Michelin Tire facility in Edison, New Jersey. The roof was 24 feet above the ground, but the judge found that the employees stayed at least 40 feet from its edge and were not exposed to a perimeter fall hazard. OSHA alleged a…
Northeast Marine Terminal Company
Seven terminal citation items vacated
OSHA observed powered-truck riders, poor housekeeping, gasoline leakage, ladder problems, and an unguarded radial saw at a Brooklyn marine terminal shared by two separate companies. The inspector initially assumed one company controlled the entire site and later divided the observed conditions…
Western Steel Manufacturing Company
Squaring-shear guarding violation affirmed
Western Steel used an unguarded Niagara squaring shear to cut metal. The Commission held that the machine was not a mechanical power press because its moving element was a blade rather than a slide fitted with tools or dies. The general machine-guarding standard therefore applied, and the evidence…
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., Inc.
Butcher PPE citation vacated
OSHA cited A&P because two retail meatcutters at its Augusta, Georgia store did not use wire-mesh gloves or protective aprons. The judge found very few minor knife injuries in the company's local stores, limited industry use of mesh gloves, and practical concerns about sanitation, frequent glove…
Star Mason Company, Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Star Mason case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority could not…
Pierce Associates, Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Pierce Associates case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The release does not describe the workplace facts, other citation items, or penalty result. Commissioner Moran's dissent states that Citation Number 4 remained affirmed under the…
Consumers Power Co.
Conductor-control citation affirmed
Consumers Power employees were removing deenergized conductors near an energized circuit when the third conductor moved unexpectedly and contacted the live line. The contact produced an electrical flash that burned the lineman's face and neck. OSHA alleged that the conductor was not kept under…
United Telephone Company of the Carolinas
Crane-clearance citation affirmed
A United Telephone construction crew was moving telephone poles and lines out of the path of Interstate 95 in South Carolina. A truck-mounted boom came into contact with, or close enough to arc to, an energized 8-kilovolt power line, and two linemen touching the truck were electrocuted. OSHA cited…
American Airlines, Inc.
Foot-protection citation affirmed without a penalty
American Airlines employed cargo, freight, and maintenance workers at Bradley International Airport. OSHA cited the airline because those employees handled heavy items and equipment but were not required to wear safety shoes or other toe protection. The Commission found that the work exposed…
Hana Shoe Corporation
Sewing-machine belt item reduced to de minimis
Hana Shoe operated about 250 single-needle sewing machines at its Lewiston, Maine, shoe factory. Each machine used an unguarded inclined belt running from a motor beneath the table to the hand wheel, with a metal clip joining the belt ends. The Commission held that the mechanical power-transmission…
Continental Can Company
Noise-control citations vacated
Continental Can manufactured metal cans at eight plants where production machinery exposed employees to noise above the limits in OSHA's noise standard. Employees used hearing protection that reduced their exposure below those limits, but OSHA cited the company for not installing engineering…
Southern Colorado Prestress Company
Safety-net violation affirmed with a $600 penalty
Southern Colorado Prestress was erecting a three-story prestressed-concrete building when an employee worked on a one-foot-wide perimeter beam about 27 feet above the ground. The employee had no safety net, scaffold, platform, safety belt, or other fall protection, and a roughly 40-mile-per-hour…
Nabisco, Inc.
Direction for review vacated by court order
The Commission vacated its direction for review in Nabisco's case as required by an order from the Fifth Circuit. The attached administrative law judge's decision had dismissed the complaint concerning a compressed-air cleaning citation under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.242(b). The judge concluded that the…
Decks, Inc. of Florida
Flat-roof guarding item vacated
OSHA cited Decks, Inc. of Florida for several items, including an allegation that it failed to install perimeter guarding on a flat roof. The Commission held that 29 C.F.R. § 1926.500(d)(1) did not apply to flat roofs. It therefore vacated Item 7 and its associated penalty. The Commission also…
Pima Construction Company
Steel-erection citations affirmed in part
Pima Construction was the steel-erection subcontractor for a nine-story courthouse project in Tucson, Arizona. The Commission found that employees regularly traveled near an unguarded second-floor edge, uncovered floor openings, and stairways without railings. It replaced the cited general…
A. Munder & Son, Inc. and Robert Catino, Inc.
Accessible hazards separated from remote conditions
A. Munder & Son was a sheet-metal subcontractor, and Robert Catino was a carpentry subcontractor, at a New York City building project. Both companies' employees passed near unsecured oxygen and acetylene cylinders that lacked valve caps, so the Commission affirmed the cylinder-storage violations…
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.