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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United States Postal Service
Ceiling-tile housekeeping citation vacated as outside standard's scope
OSHA inspected a Postal Service facility in Dora, Alabama after an employee complained about mold and mildew from water leaking onto ceiling tiles. The compliance officer observed stained and discolored ceiling tiles and insulation, but the record did not establish that mold or mildew was present…
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Combustible-dust case settled and dismissed
OSHA cited Cooper Tire over alleged carbon-black dust hazards at its Tupelo tire plant. After withdrawals and a partial settlement, the judge vacated the remaining general duty, hazardous-location, and housekeeping items because the Secretary did not prove the cited combustible-dust conditions…
American Recycling & Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Broad safety violations affirmed after amputation inspection
American Recycling & Manufacturing produced wood packaging materials and pallets at a Rochester, New York facility. OSHA opened a safety inspection after a twenty-year-old employee's left hand was amputated when a coworker accidentally activated a pop-up saw, then opened a related health inspection…
American Made Tires, Inc.
Default affirms repeat, serious, and failure-to-abate penalties
American Made Tires contested repeat and serious citations from a follow-up OSHA inspection, along with a notification that earlier violations remained unabated. The company then missed settlement and prehearing conferences, refused discovery, failed to answer the complaints or show-cause order…
Vitakraft Sunseed, Inc.
Housekeeping and warning-sign violations affirmed, general duty item vacated
Vitakraft Sunseed manufactured small-animal products at a facility where its dust collection system deposited agricultural dust into a wagon inside a dust room. OSHA cited accumulated combustible dust, the absence of warning signs, and an alleged general duty clause violation based on fire and…
GEM, Inc.
Electrical PPE and insulated-equipment items affirmed after an arc blast
GEM repaired an electrical power system at a county courthouse after lightning damage, and an arc blast occurred while its crew performed a polarity test on energized equipment. The judge found that replacing the damaged bus section was maintenance rather than construction, so the general industry…
Lewis County Dairy Corp.
Widespread safety violations result in $72,750 penalty
OSHA found extensive safety deficiencies at Lewis County Dairy's kosher dairy plant, including missing safety programs, inadequate lockout practices, unguarded equipment, electrical hazards, deficient fall protection, and insufficient hazard communication. Of the 33 serious citation items, the…
The Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co.
Coal-dust housekeeping citation vacated as preempted
OSHA cited Cincinnati Gas & Electric under the general housekeeping standard for combustible coal dust accumulated on surfaces in a power plant. The Secretary argued that disturbed dust could become airborne and fuel a secondary explosion. The Commission found that the record did not identify how a…
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…
EBAA Iron, Inc.
Silica overexposure and control citations vacated
EBAA Iron operated a foundry in Cordele, Georgia, where OSHA sampled the breathing zone of an inner-diameter grinder operator and calculated exposure above the limit for respirable crystalline silica. EBAA showed that the grinding wheel contained 40 percent zirconium oxide and that OSHA's own…
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…
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…
Loomis Cabinet Company
Cabinet workers held to be employees
Loomis Cabinet Company manufactured wooden cabinets and was cited after a follow-up inspection for repeat, other-than-serious, and failure-to-abate violations. Loomis stipulated to the violations but argued that its former employees had become partners in Eastview Cabinet Company, leaving Loomis…
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Electrical penalty cut but four serious violations upheld
Trinity Industries manufactured chemical-processing tanks at its Sharonville, Ohio plant. The Commission upheld serious violations for failing to protect an employee walking on top of a tank from a nine-foot fall, leaving a compressed-gas cylinder without a valve cap, and allowing welding arcs to…
Miami Industries, Inc.
OSHA approval estopped stricter machine-guarding enforcement
Miami Industries used hinged barrier guards around tube-mill rollers after an OSHA compliance officer approved the design following an earlier citation. OSHA also used Miami's blueprints as a model for other employers and conducted later inspections for almost ten years without citing the guards…
The Specialist of the South, Inc.
$3,000 penalty affirmed for 39 serious items
The Specialists operated a small furniture repair, refinishing, and upholstery business using flammable and toxic materials. OSHA cited 39 serious violations, primarily involving fire and explosion hazards, and proposed $9,900 in penalties. An ALJ affirmed every serious item but assessed a combined…
Frito-Lay, Inc.
One tripping-hazard item remains after citation withdrawal
OSHA cited Frito-Lay over flexible electrical cords used with portable conveyors. The Secretary withdrew Citation 1, which had alleged a willful electrical violation, and the Commission set aside the judge's rulings on that citation. The judge's disposition of Citation 2 became the final order. One…
Harrison Furniture Manufacturing Company
Commission approves withdrawal of all citations
OSHA cited Harrison Furniture Manufacturing Company for numerous conditions at its Arkansas furniture plant after an inspection conducted under a warrant. The earlier litigation addressed whether evidence from a plant-wide inspection should be suppressed when the warrant application was based on…
Cardinal Operating Company
Tank-entry general duty citation vacated
Cardinal employees faced a fall hazard while climbing through side openings into water-treatment tanks and stepping down onto internal laterals. The company had tried resistant linings, several kinds of ladders, lifelines, platforms, and other measures without solving the entry problem. The…
Farmers Cooperative Grain and Supply Company
Repeated grain-dust housekeeping violation affirmed
Farmers Cooperative Grain and Supply allowed grain dust to accumulate as deep as 20 inches in areas of its elevator, creating a fire and explosion hazard. Although OSHA originally cited the general duty clause, the Commission allowed amendment to the specific housekeeping standard because the same…
O.E.C. Corporation
Three violations affirmed without warrant review
An OSHA inspection conducted under a warrant produced three nonserious citations against O.E.C. Corporation. The judge affirmed the violations and assessed penalties of $100 and $175 for two items, while concluding that the Commission lacked authority to evaluate the warrant. Review was directed on…
Westinghouse Broadcasting Co., Inc. d/b/a WBZ TV Group Westinghouse Broadcasting
Locked-door and exit-sign violations affirmed
OSHA cited conditions at Westinghouse's Boston television and radio station, including wet newsroom housekeeping, alcohol storage, locked or obstructed doors, and an unmarked FM-studio exit. The Commission affirmed vacatur of the newsroom item because it duplicated an uncontested wet-floor…
Marinas of the Future, Inc.
Housekeeping item vacated and grinder violation affirmed
Marinas of the Future operated a small boatyard and used a converted barge as a workshop. After a severe storm, an employee performing extensive repairs had wires, tools, and materials spread across the floor, but the Commission found no evidence that the work area contained more material than…
Oil Sales & Processing Corporation
Defective access-ladder items affirmed, lifesaving-equipment items vacated
Oil Sales & Processing performed ship repair and tank cleaning at piers in Bayonne, New Jersey. Employees used a repaired wooden ladder as the only access to a vessel even though it had a broken side rail, inadequate extension above the deck, and insufficient securing against displacement. The…
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…
Yosemite Park and Curry Co.
Electrical and repeat housekeeping violations affirmed
An inspection of Yosemite Park and Curry's transportation garage produced six contested items involving a roof leak, an extension cord, gasoline cans, housekeeping, tire storage, and a stair-landing obstruction. The judge affirmed the defective extension-cord item because untagged equipment stored…
Central of Georgia Railroad Company
Railroad liable for hazardous conditions on customer tracks
Central of Georgia Railroad sent switching crews onto tracks owned and maintained by Continental Can, where lime, oil, mud, chips, and water created unsafe walking conditions. The Commission rejected the railroad's argument that Federal Railroad Administration authority displaced OSHA jurisdiction…
General Electric Company
Unguarded paint-room pit violated open-pit standard
General Electric used a long, five-foot-deep pit to paint the undersides of railroad cars at its Erie facility. After a car left the room, painters routinely cleaned debris from a floor surrounding the unguarded pit and worked within two to three feet of its edge. The Commission held that…
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…
John Hoaglin Auto Trim
Low-gravity shop violations affirmed with $75 total penalty
John Hoaglin Auto Trim contested only the penalties for ten admitted nonserious violations. The items included floor debris creating a trip hazard, naphtha stored in an unapproved container, unguarded sewing-machine belts, uncovered electrical outlet boxes, and ungrounded sewing and vending…
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…
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…
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…
The Gould-Mersereau Co., Inc.
Machine-guarding violations partly affirmed
Gould-Mersereau manufactured drapery hardware at a New York City plant where an inspection produced thirteen nonserious citation items. The judge affirmed machine-guarding violations involving feed rollers, a power-press pedal, and ten riveting machines, but vacated the portions involving a…
P. & M. Sales, Inc.
Mixed citation ruling and $35 penalty affirmed
P. & M. Sales manufactured toys and dolls and was cited for several nonserious conditions involving its spray and electro-forming areas. The Commission held that the employer's timely written contest of the penalties, together with a contemporaneous oral communication contesting the citation, gave…
American Bag Co., Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalties reduced
American Bag was a 17-employee leather bag manufacturer in Puerto Rico. After the company did not contest an initial citation, OSHA reinspected and alleged that multiple violations had not been corrected, that the citation had not been posted, and that an injury log had not been maintained. The…
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Co.
Housekeeping and posting items remanded for a hearing
Seaboard Coast Line received five nonserious items for poor housekeeping, failure to post the OSHA notice, and recordkeeping deficiencies. The judge vacated the three recordkeeping items because railroad recordkeeping was exempt, but affirmed the housekeeping and posting items without holding a…
Worcester Pressed Steel Company
Duplicate aisle item vacated, higher penalties sustained
Worcester Pressed Steel Company operated a large metal-stamping plant cited for 40 nonserious safety violations. The cited conditions included poor housekeeping and floors, obstructed and unmarked aisles, missing exit signs and eye protection, forklift hazards, inadequate machine guarding, and…
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…
Donovan's Blacktop, Inc.
Settlement affirms citations and reduces penalties
Donovan's Blacktop faced citations from inspections of its garage and two Massachusetts construction sites. The cited conditions included poor housekeeping, improper electrical grounding, an unsupported trench, missing eye protection, and gasoline carried in an unapproved container. The parties…
Tobacco River Lumber Co.
Mixed ruling on thirty sawmill citation items
Tobacco River operated a Montana sawmill and planing mill that received a thirty-item citation covering housekeeping, stairs, protective equipment, fire safety, tools, gas cylinders, machinery, and electrical conditions. The Commission upheld the inspection because a company employee with authority…
Garrison & Associates, Inc.
Press-brake guarding citation restored
Garrison custom-fabricated sheet metal with two press brakes whose points of operation were unguarded. An employee was observed forming a small piece with his hands close to the operating point, although holding tools were available for small pieces. The judge vacated the guarding item after…
General Electric Company, Inc.
Mixed ruling on extensive turbine-plant citations
OSHA issued General Electric numerous serious, nonserious, repeated, and willful citations after inspecting its Schenectady steam turbine and generator facilities. The Commission affirmed or restored violations involving ladder safety, portable tools, welder fall protection, housekeeping, fire…
Irvington Moore, Division of U.S. Natural Resources, Inc.
Press-brake guarding violation reinstated
Irvington Moore manufactured sawmill machinery and used a press brake, an ironworker, and two saws at its Oregon plant. The Commission held that the general point-of-operation guarding standard applied to the press brake even though the specific mechanical power-press standard excluded press brakes…
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, A Div. of United Aircraft Corp.
Locked-exit violation affirmed with reduced penalty
Pratt & Whitney assembled and tested rocket and jet engines in a large room that held as many as 150 employees and contained flammable liquids and several possible ignition sources. Six of the room's seven exits were locked for security, and employees were sometimes locked inside for ten to thirty…
Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Co.
Forty-six citation items vacated as untimely
OSHA cited 46 alleged safety, health, recordkeeping, and posting violations at Illinois Central Gulf Railroad's locomotive repair facility in Paducah, Kentucky. The inspection was coordinated with the Federal Railroad Administration, and the proposed citation moved through regional and national…
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…
Penn Central Transportation Company
Untimely railroad citations remained final
OSHA cited Penn Central for unsafe track conditions and multiple shop, office, electrical, housekeeping, and recordkeeping conditions at a Virginia rail yard. Penn Central did not timely contest the original citations, so the Commission held that they became final by operation of law and the…
Plessey-Burton, Inc.
Housekeeping and emergency-water violations affirmed
Plessey-Burton cleaned, processed, and electroplated electrical components at a Los Angeles facility. The Commission affirmed a housekeeping violation based on acid spills and disorderly chemical-drum storage that created slipping and tripping hazards. It also affirmed a violation for failing to…
Tech-Steel, Inc.
$30 penalty assessed for obstructed aisles
Tech-Steel fabricated structural steel at a Utah facility. The company admitted that scrap metal, extension cords, welding leads, and hoses obstructed work areas, aisles, and passageways used with overhead cranes. The judge affirmed the violations but vacated the proposed $30 penalty. The…
St. Paul Feed & Supply, Inc.
Penalty-only contest leaves citations final
St. Paul Feed & Supply received one serious and 17 nonserious citation items at its Oregon agricultural-products facility. Its notice of contest identified only the proposed penalties. The Commission held that this limited notice left the citations and their abatement periods as final orders, so…
Kemmerlin Meats, Inc.
Seventeen plant violations affirmed with $235 penalties
Kemmerlin Meats admitted 17 violations at its South Carolina meatpacking plant involving compressed-gas cylinders, machine guarding, electrical wiring and grounding, housekeeping, ladders, knives, sanitation, and equipment labeling. Penalties were proposed for six items, including raw wires…
International Terminal Operating Company
Four stevedoring items affirmed with $135 penalties
International Terminal Operating Company was cited for conditions during stevedoring work aboard several vessels and on a Brooklyn dock. The judge affirmed an oily deck condition without a penalty, a blocked hatch ladder for $40, an unstable temporary surface under a powered vehicle for $40, and…
Muriel Manufacturing Company
Penalties for garment-shop violations affirmed
Muriel Manufacturing Company operated a contract garment-sewing shop where OSHA cited housekeeping, stairway, exit, fire-extinguisher, machine-guarding, electrical, posting, and recordkeeping conditions. The employer admitted 12 nonserious violations, while two abrasive-wheel items were vacated by…
St. Mary's Cotton Mill, Division of Leshner Corporation
Nineteen plant violations affirmed
St. Mary's Cotton Mill admitted 19 nonserious conditions involving compressed air, machine guards, fire extinguishers, electrical grounding, exits, floor openings, storage, housekeeping, and other plant equipment. OSHA proposed penalties on ten of the items, totaling $375, and no penalties on the…
Biltrite Fixture Co., Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalty set at $750
Biltrite manufactured store fixtures and failed to abate six non-serious electrical, welding, fire-extinguisher, and housekeeping violations by the stated deadline. OSHA proposed $2,465 in additional daily penalties, and the company corrected the remaining conditions the day after reinspection. The…
Metals Selling Corporation, Inc.
Combustible-liquid cabinet item vacated
Metals Selling Corporation manufactured metallic chemicals and structures, with much of its business involving magnesium grinding. OSHA issued 20 nonserious items covering housekeeping, aisles, stairs, exits, gas cylinders, personal protective equipment, fire protection, machine guarding…
Fineberg Packing Company, Inc.
OSHA sanitation item reinstated despite USDA rules
Fineberg Packing, a meat processor, received a nine-item nonserious citation covering electrical, exit, fire-protection, housekeeping, sanitation, and ladder conditions. The judge vacated the sanitation item because Department of Agriculture rules under the Wholesome Meat Act also regulated plant…
Eckerd's Tri-Roads, Inc.
Four-item citation vacated with prejudice
Eckerd's Tri-Roads, a retail drug store, received a four-item citation covering the OSHA poster, annual injury and illness summary, fire-extinguisher mounting, and housekeeping. The judge affirmed all four items, assessed $50 for the poster item, and vacated a proposed $100 penalty for the…
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.