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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Yellow Freight Systems, Inc.
DOT rules did not preempt OSHA spill protections
OSHA cited Yellow Freight after hazardous-material spills at its Colorado freight terminal. The Commission held that the governing transportation statute expressly prevented Department of Transportation actions from preempting OSHA enforcement for the cited working conditions. It remanded the…
Beall Construction, Inc., d/b/a Tiger Manufacturing
Settlement resolves two consolidated cases, $1,000 penalty
Beall Construction, Inc., doing business as Tiger Manufacturing in Dallas, Texas, faced OSHA citations in two separate cases covering welding, respirator, flammable-liquid, spray-finishing, and electrical safety standards. At a June 28, 1994 hearing, the parties used a short settlement discussion…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Housekeeping item affirmed and eyewash item vacated
Trinity Industries manufactured railcars at its Bessemer, Alabama, plant. Commission review focused on materials and tools left on elevated work walkways and the availability of water for employees exposed to corrosive paint materials. The Commission affirmed the housekeeping item because Trinity…
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…
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…
PPG Industries (Caribe a Corporation)
Mixed mercury and respirator ruling left unreviewed
The judge vacated two citation items involving mercury exposure limits and feasible controls. He found a respirator fit-and-seal violation but classified it as de minimis. The Secretary did not wish to pursue review, while PPG sought to preserve the vacated items and eliminate the de minimis…
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.