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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L & B Products, Corp.
Fifty manufacturing safety items affirmed
L & B Products, Corp. manufactured furniture at a facility in Hudson, New York. OSHA issued 51 serious and other-than-serious items after inspecting eight departments. The allegations covered elevated work areas, exit signs, flammable liquids, fire and lockout training, machine and power-press…
Eyelematic Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Power-press, chain, cylinder, and electrical items produce $5,300
Eyelematic Manufacturing Company, Inc. made small metal parts at its Connecticut facility. Administrative Law Judge Richard DeBenedetto vacated a flammable-container item because the Secretary's amendment shifted the theory from approved container design to liquid transfer without evidence fitting…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Forklift-training item vacated for insufficient proof
Trinity used five forklifts at its San Antonio steel-fabrication plant, operated by employees with 15 to 30 years of experience. OSHA alleged that Trinity had not devised adequate methods to train those operators. The record showed that management monitored operator proficiency and that a…
Tampa Shipyards, Inc.
Willful crane overload affirmed after fatal collapse
Tampa Shipyards used a tower crane to lift and swing a ship-deck section that workers believed weighed 33 tons while the boom was set for a 21-ton capacity. The crane collapsed during the lift and killed two employees. The Commission affirmed a willful general duty clause violation because…
Thermal Reduction Corporation
Review vacated after failure to comply with Commission orders
Thermal Reduction Corporation repeatedly failed to file required corporate-ownership information and current contact information for its representative. It also failed to respond to the Commission's show-cause order. The Commission therefore vacated the direction for review and made the ALJ's…
New England Container Company, Inc.
Valve item affirmed, noise items vacated
New England reconditioned used 55-gallon drums and operated a noisy blasting machine. The judge affirmed an other-than-serious, no-penalty violation because drums of flammable liquid lacked self-closing valves after installed valves broke and replacements were ordered. Chairman Buckley agreed that…
The Bucket Elevator Company
Flammable-liquid and welding penalties reduced to $200 total
The Bucket Elevator Company accepted serious citations involving flammable-liquid transfer near ignition sources and inadequate screening of a welding area, but contested the two proposed $600 penalties. The fire hazard involved vapors that could ignite near welding, while unshielded arc rays could…
S. E. Smith & Sons
Saw-guard violations affirmed with a reduced penalty
S. E. Smith & Sons contested five nonserious items and five serious machine-guarding items involving table and radial saws. The employer argued that each saw operator should decide whether to use the required safety devices. The judge rejected that position because compliance with the standards…
Alpha Poster Service, Inc.
Most failure-to-abate and liquid-handling items upheld
Alpha Poster Service operated a small silk-screen printing business that OSHA reinspected after an earlier citation became final. The judge affirmed ten failure-to-abate items at $45 each, vacated two others, and affirmed two housekeeping and exit-obstruction violations as nonserious at $115 each…
Sunpruf Aluminum Products, Inc.
Eight safety items affirmed without penalties
Sunpruf manufactured aluminum storm windows and doors at a Nashville plant with about 30 employees. OSHA cited conditions involving electrical boxes, compressed air, respiratory and welding protection, personal protective equipment, first aid, housekeeping, and aisle marking. The Secretary withdrew…
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.