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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U.S. Postal Service, dba Kenton Station
Four asbestos-related violations affirmed with reduced penalties
The Postal Service operated Kenton Station in Portland, Oregon, where asbestos-containing flooring was present in work and custodial areas. OSHA alleged repeat violations for missing annual asbestos training, deficient asbestos housekeeping, an incomplete hazardous-chemical list, and the absence of…
Barnard Construction Company, Incorporated
Grinder and floor-cover items partly affirmed
Barnard Construction faced safety and health citations arising from work at a federally owned Kentucky power project. The judge affirmed a serious bench-grinder item because its work rests exceeded the permitted gap and the accessible machine had not been effectively tagged or removed from employee…
M.A. Mortenson Company
Fire-extinguisher hazard-communication items vacated under consumer-product exception
OSHA cited Mortenson for omitting ten-pound ABC fire extinguishers from its hazardous-chemical list and for not keeping their safety data sheets onsite. The judge found that the extinguishers qualified for the hazard communication standard's consumer-product exception. They were sold for consumer…
Professional Directional, Ltd.
Settlement order set aside for correction
Professional Directional agreed to withdraw its contest of five citation items and pay a reduced penalty of $13,600. After the judge approved the settlement, the Secretary reported that one sentence mistakenly said the employer "did ensure" safety data sheets were available when the agreement…
D & A Construction
Soap item vacated, paint safety-data item affirmed
D & A Construction employees performed touch-up painting during airport renovations in Saipan. OSHA cited the company because the nearest restroom's soap dispenser was empty and the worksite lacked the correct material safety data sheet for the industrial enamel paint in use. The judge vacated the…
D & D Masonry Services, Inc.
Scaffold violations largely affirmed with reduced penalties
D & D Masonry used a multilevel scaffold for masonry work at a Georgia construction site. OSHA found wide platform gaps, damaged planks, unsecured scaffold legs, missing fall protection and a midrail, and a closed stepladder used as access. The judge affirmed those scaffold and ladder conditions as…
Turner Industries Group, LLC
Chemical-turnaround training and assessment items affirmed
Turner employees replaced chemical-processing equipment during a plant turnaround in an area containing Tris, ethylene dichloride, and other hazardous substances. The company's special meeting focused mainly on Tris, did not cover all chemical hazards, and missed at least one employee who was sent…
Tire Star, Inc.
Roof, chemical, and ladder violations affirmed
Tire Star sent three automotive workers to patch the roof of a vacant building that it was renovating for use as a tire and repair facility. OSHA found that the workers used hazardous roofing chemicals without a written hazard communication program, safety data sheets, or chemical training. They…
Luna Tech, Inc.
Settlement approved with $50,000 in combined penalties
The two cases arose from OSHA inspections of Luna Tech's fireworks-manufacturing plant, including an inspection after explosions and fires injured three employees and one later died. While the cases were under Commission review, the parties settled all remaining issues. The Secretary withdrew…
North Atlantic Fish Company, Inc.
Broad fish-plant safety violations affirmed
OSHA's safety and health inspections of North Atlantic's Massachusetts fish-processing plant identified extensive fire, machine, electrical, chemical, respiratory, noise, storage, and powered-industrial-truck hazards. The judge affirmed most of the serious items, including general duty violations…
Mid City Motors
Settlement affirms four serious items with a $750 total penalty
OSHA inspected Mid City Motors and issued a citation alleging three serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $2,850. When the hearing opened, the parties reached an agreement resolving every issue. Their stipulation, incorporated into the order by reference, treated the third item as two…
Alcorn Well Service, Inc., a Division of Dawson Well Service, Inc.
Wrench-hazard item vacated, hazard-communication items yield $1,050
An Alcorn Well Service, Inc. crew was fishing broken sucker rods from a Texas well when two workers used pipe wrenches to turn a rod and move an overshot through a tight spot. The rod unexpectedly torqued, one worker lost control of his wrench, and the wrench struck another employee in the head…
Atlantic Battery Company, Inc.
Mixed lead, hazard-communication, fire-safety, and posting rulings reduced penalties to $7,240
Atlantic Battery manufactured and sold batteries at a small Massachusetts plant where OSHA cited lead exposure, medical removal, housekeeping, hazard communication, fire safety, eyewash, respiratory protection, and posting conditions. The Commission affirmed willful violations for allowing a…
CNG Transmission Corporation
Mixed ruling on frac-tank hazards
CNG Transmission was preparing a natural-gas field for underground storage and used workers supplied by Union Drilling to monitor a frac-fluid flow-back operation. After the piping was changed so that fluid and gas flowed directly into a frac tank, two night-shift workers were found inside the tank…
Safeway Store No. 914
Commission affirms hazard-communication violations without penalty
OSHA cited a Safeway grocery store in Loveland, Colorado, for hazard-communication deficiencies involving a windshield washer used to clean checkout scanners and a sanitizer used in the meat department. The Commission held that the citations were timely because OSHA issued them within six months…
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.