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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Packerland Packing Co. of Texas, Inc.
Welding-fire violations and $600 penalty affirmed
Packerland employees used an oxy-acetylene torch to cut a cooler wall containing combustible polyurethane insulation. A flash fire occurred, and a welder was later found deceased after the parties stipulated that he ran into a structural support; the record did not establish the exact cause of…
American Barrel Company, Inc.
Commission finds commerce coverage during corporate wind-down and orders rehearing
American Barrel Company had stopped its regular barrel-reconditioning operations and was winding up the corporation when OSHA inspected after a workplace fire. Employees were still keeping the books and dismantling machinery for sale as scrap metal. The judge dismissed the case because he found the…
CAPA Iron Works, Inc.
Water drum and pails satisfied fire protection requirement
CAPA Iron Works employees used an acetylene torch at a construction site where OSHA found no portable fire extinguisher. The company relied on a 55-gallon drum of water and two fire pails as alternative equipment. The Commission accepted the judge's credibility finding that the equipment was…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.