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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Benise-Dowling, Inc.
Fire-suppression and eyewash violations affirmed
OSHA cited conditions at Benise-Dowling's powder-coating facility during a follow-up inspection. The judge affirmed a serious violation because a new electrostatic spray booth lacked automatic fire suppression, rejecting the company's claim that an earlier OSHA discussion deprived it of fair…
Loretto-Oswego Residential Health Care Facility
Repeat violations reduced to serious
Loretto-Oswego operated a nursing home affiliated with two other Loretto facilities that had prior final orders for substantially similar violations. The judge treated the related corporations as a single employer and affirmed seven items as repeat. The Commission reversed because the facilities…
Fresenius USA Manufacturing, Inc. d/b/a TruBlu Logistics
Medical-availability and cable items vacated
OSHA inspected a Fresenius distribution warehouse after an employee reported an electric shock while disconnecting a forklift battery. The judge vacated the allegation that medical personnel were not readily available, finding that the cited rule did not require contact within a fixed time and that…
Oberdorfer Industries, Inc.
Foundry citations partly affirmed and partly vacated
Oberdorfer operated an aluminum foundry that OSHA inspected under a local emphasis program for primary-metal industries. The Commission vacated the no-smoking-sign and explosion-proof-wiring items because the Secretary did not perform the testing her expert said was needed to establish dangerous…
Duro-Last, Inc.
First-aid-room eating violation affirmed
OSHA cited three conditions at Duro-Last's roofing-material plant. The judge vacated the eyewash item because employees merely connected forklift batteries for charging and the Secretary did not prove exposure to corrosive electrolyte. He also vacated the machine-shaft guarding item because…
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…
Nordam Group
Eye-protection violation affirmed after citation amendment
Nordam manufactured and repaired aerospace products at a Tulsa facility where employees ground fiberglass parts. OSHA originally alleged that the company failed to provide side shields or goggles, while the judge found that several employees wore no eye protection at all. The Commission allowed…
Gulf Hauling & Construction, Inc.
PPE-training and eyewash items affirmed, most items vacated after a fatal chemical-burn accident
Gulf Hauling & Construction is a family-owned Mobile, Alabama company that hauls paper-processing waste for the International Paper plant. An employee was found on the concrete waste pad in black liquor solids, a caustic material, and died several weeks later from complications of chemical burns…
Patterson Drilling Co. Rig #4
Rig-floor guarding and emergency washing violations affirmed
OSHA cited Patterson Drilling for inadequate guarding at a rig-floor opening and inadequate emergency washing facilities where employees handled caustic soda. The opening was protected only by a sagging chain without a midrail, exposing employees to a 20-foot fall. Judge James H. Barkley found that…
Foss Maritime
Eyewash and walkway citations vacated
At Foss Maritime's repair facility, OSHA found a clogged eyewash near a caustic-soda parts tank and a yacht-access walkway without midrails. A working water hose was immediately beside the caustic tank, and Judge Stanley M. Schwartz found that the Secretary did not prove the hose was unsuitable for…
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…
McCain Foods, Inc.
Willful asbestos violations and $165,000 in penalties affirmed
McCain Foods operated a food-processing plant in Easton, Maine, while a major renovation project removed old piping and other material containing asbestos. The judge found that management knew asbestos was present, misled an OSHA inspector about the work, failed to train or protect employees, and…
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…
Homestead Gourmet Food Co., Inc.
Settlement approved after hearing
OSHA inspected Homestead Gourmet Food Company's facility in Linden, New Jersey, and issued two citations. The citations alleged six serious violations and five other-than-serious violations under standards addressing exits, personal protective equipment, emergency washing, electrical training…
Metal Recycling Company
Scrap-yard hazards yield mixed ruling and $400 penalty
OSHA inspected Metal Recycling Company's three-employee scrap-metal facility in El Paso, Texas, and issued a serious citation with multiple items. The judge affirmed serious violations involving unsecured access stairs, an exit leading into a blocked and fenced yard, obstructed aisles, hazardous…
Conagra Flour Milling Company
Commission splits flour-mill safety citations and assesses $500
Conagra operated a flour-milling facility in Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, where OSHA cited battery servicing, powered industrial trucks, machine guarding, compressed-air cleaning, and grain-handling practices. The Commission vacated the personal-protective-equipment and eyewash items because OSHA's…
Hamilton Fixture
Commission upholds expanded inspection and assesses $2,450
Hamilton Fixture manufactured wooden store-display fixtures at a plant in Hamilton, Ohio, with about 350 employees. OSHA began with a union complaint about safety practices and expanded the inspection plant-wide after the compliance officer calculated a lost-workday injury rate about three times…
Waste Processing Equipment, Inc.
Eleven of twelve serious items affirmed, one vacated, penalty cut to $4,600
Waste Processing Equipment, Inc. runs a manufacturing plant in Rainsville, Alabama, with about 28 employees making paper balers and other waste-handling equipment. A September 1991 OSHA inspection led to a serious citation with 12 items and a proposed penalty of $12,500, plus an "other" citation…
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.
Full-scope inspection warrant upheld
Trinity manufactured tanks and pressure vessels at a Sharonville, Ohio, facility. After an employee complaint, OSHA obtained a warrant authorizing a limited complaint inspection, a records review, and a full-scope inspection if neutral administrative-plan criteria were met. The facility's…
Armour Food Company
Two guarding items affirmed and six items vacated
OSHA cited multiple conditions at Armour's meat-processing plant, and the Commission reviewed selected personal-protective-equipment, machine-guarding, power-transmission, centrifuge, and compressed-gas items. It vacated the mesh-glove item because OSHA did not prove that sharpening slicer blades…
Bridgeport Brass Company
Indoor emergency eyewash and shower were sufficiently accessible
Bridgeport Brass Company occasionally transferred sulfuric acid from a truck to an outdoor storage tank. An eyewash fountain and safety shower were inside an adjacent building, a short distance from the door. The Secretary argued that the door, tank, truck, and delivery lines could obstruct an…
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc.
Spray-room item remanded and eyewash item vacated
OSHA cited DuPont for conducting pump spray-painting without a spray booth or spray room and for allegedly lacking suitable emergency eye-flushing facilities where corrosive liquids were handled. The Commission ruled that the spray-painting item required more evidence on whether the pump shop…
ASAMERA Oil (U.S.), Inc.
Respirator and emergency-washing rulings severed from electrical review
ASAMERA Oil's consolidated refinery cases included respiratory-protection, emergency-washing, and electrical citation items. In Docket No. 79-1756, the judge affirmed a serious respiratory-protection item with a $360 penalty and part of an emergency-washing item with a $50 penalty. No party sought…
Otis Elevator Company
Settled dockets severed from noise review
OSHA issued seven citations after inspecting Otis Elevator's Ohio iron foundry, and the resulting contests were consolidated. The parties settled most citations, the Secretary withdrew one remaining crane item, and the judge vacated a repeated noise citation after a hearing. The Secretary sought…
Reynolds Metal Company
Settlement conditionally affirmed for employee objections
Reynolds and the Secretary settled serious general duty clause and emergency-eyewash citation items by reducing penalties, extending abatement dates, and withdrawing the company's contest. Two unions had elected party status but were not properly served with the proposed agreement or given a clear…
Gibson Discount Center, Store #15
Eyewash citation vacated for lack of proof
Gibson operated a retail store with an auto service area where employees charged vehicle batteries. OSHA cited the store under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.151(c), alleging that suitable emergency flushing facilities were not readily available near the battery charger. The judge affirmed because the nearest…
Idaho Travertine Corporation
Most stone-processing citations affirmed with penalties reduced to $125
Idaho Travertine Corporation processed quarried stone at a small plant in Idaho Falls. OSHA issued one serious radial-saw citation and 13 nonserious items covering noise, personal protective equipment, machinery, compressed gas, emergency flushing, exits, and housekeeping. The judge affirmed the…
Idaho Travertine Corporation
Mine-safety jurisdiction dismissal reversed and case remanded
Idaho Travertine quarried large stone blocks at remote sites and transported them to an Idaho Falls plant for cutting, honing, polishing, and finishing. OSHA issued one serious citation and 12 nonserious citations with $1,290 in proposed penalties, but the judge vacated them because he placed the…
Hydrate Battery Corp.
Lead overexposure affirmed as nonserious
Hydrate Battery manufactured lead-acid batteries at a small Virginia plant. OSHA sampled five employees for one eight-hour shift and found that each was exposed above the airborne-lead limit, with one result more than five times the limit. The Commission agreed that the standard was violated but…
Chamberlain Manufacturing Corp.
Nine violations affirmed, penalties set at $1,292.50
Chamberlain operated an Iowa manufacturing plant producing ammunition components, appliance shelving, and aluminum ladders. The judge affirmed nine nonserious items involving damaged hoist ropes and a distorted hook, missing electrical covers, excessive compressed-air pressure, emergency washing…
Sequoyah Spinning Mills, Inc.
Plant penalties affirmed and noise penalties vacated
Sequoyah Spinning Mills manufactured carpet yarn at a plant with 246 employees. In docket 1012, the company admitted 16 nonserious conditions involving housekeeping, combustible materials, fire protection, chemical protection, machine guarding, compressed air, welding cylinders, and electrical…
Lee Way Motor Freight, Inc.
Open service-pit citation restored
Lee Way Motor Freight operated four long vehicle-service pits without covers or guardrails. Mechanics worked around and stepped over the pits, and the surrounding floor could become wet with oil, ice, snow, or rainwater. The judge vacated that item because the accident risk appeared low, but the…
Vitamin Premixers of Omaha, Inc.
Six safety violations affirmed with $400 penalty
Vitamin Premixers of Omaha produced and distributed premixed animal feed. The company admitted six nonserious violations involving fire extinguishers, unguarded fan blades, emergency drenching or eyewash facilities, a weak stair handrail, compressed-air cleaning, and electrical motors in a…
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.