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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Gulf and Western, Energy Products Group, Bonney Forge Division
Excessive noise exposure proved and remaining issues remanded
OSHA cited Bonney Forge after measuring excessive noise exposure for 13 employees in its machine shop, forge shop, and production grinding area. The ALJ vacated the citation because he considered OSHA's measurements unreliable and found that overexposure had not been proved. The Commission…
Collier-Keyworth Company
Noise appeal settled with one item affirmed and no penalty
Collier-Keyworth manufactured office-chair mechanisms using power presses and lathes at a Massachusetts plant. OSHA cited the company under the occupational noise standard for employee protection, engineering or administrative controls, and a hearing conservation program. The litigation produced…
Collier-Keyworth Company
Impulse-noise case remanded for evidence on the standard's intent
Collier-Keyworth manufactured office-chair mechanisms using power presses and lathes that produced high noise levels. The Commission initially held that the permissible-noise table did not cover impulse noise and planned to vacate related citation items unless the Secretary rebutted historical…
Red Star Marine Services, Inc.
Noise citation withdrawn and case dismissed
Red Star operated tugboats and marine towing services. An administrative law judge found that an engineer aboard the tugboat Stamford was exposed to excessive engine-room noise and that Red Star lacked a continuing, effective hearing-conservation program. The judge affirmed those two items as other…
New England Container Company, Inc.
Valve item affirmed, noise items vacated
New England reconditioned used 55-gallon drums and operated a noisy blasting machine. The judge affirmed an other-than-serious, no-penalty violation because drums of flammable liquid lacked self-closing valves after installed valves broke and replacements were ordered. Chairman Buckley agreed that…
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Noise, eye protection, and respirator violations affirmed
A Conrail shop employee worked near a running locomotive at about twice the allowable noise exposure without hearing protection despite prior requests for it. The Commission held that EPA and Federal Railroad Administration noise rules did not preempt OSHA from requiring personal protective…
Samsonite Corporation
Discovery dismissal reversed and citations remanded
OSHA cited Samsonite for alleged excessive noise, inadequate hearing protection and conservation measures, insufficient skin protection from epoxy, and ergonomic stress from repetitive work. The judge treated the Secretary's late responses to requests for admission as binding, dismissed the case…
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…
Druth Packaging Corporation
Noise violations affirmed but abatement dates remanded
Employees at two corrugators were exposed to excessive noise and did not use available hearing protection. The Secretary's acoustical expert identified feasible rigid or flexible barriers that could reduce noise by three to eight decibels. The Commission affirmed the judge's finding that Druth…
Gardinier, Inc. & International Chemical Workers
Settlement approved after union participation
OSHA issued Gardinier two citations containing multiple serious and nonserious items and proposed $900 in total penalties. Gardinier contested most of the items, and the company and Secretary later reached a settlement. International Chemical Workers Union Local 439 had requested participation and…
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…
Weyerhaeuser Company
Sawmill citations largely reinstated
After two inspections of Weyerhaeuser’s Oregon lumber complex, the judge vacated most contested items. The Commission largely reversed. It affirmed excessive-noise subitems where even machinery-idling readings exceeded permissible levels for the employees’ work periods, while vacating subitems that…
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…
Continental Steel Corporation
Noise penalties modified, four violations affirmed
Continental Steel received four citations involving excessive noise, nonmandatory hearing protection, failure to lock out power during lubrication, and inadequate ventilation around an acid tank. The company stipulated that noise exceeded permitted levels and that some employees did not use hearing…
B.F. Goodrich Company
Noise settlement approved and abatement extension motion denied
The settlement vacated a chemical-exposure item and its $80 penalty for lack of evidence, while affirming an occupational-noise item with a $60 penalty and a staged abatement plan. B.F. Goodrich later asked for two years after the Commission's final order to complete the cure-men abatement work…
Hartwell Excavating Co.
Mixed ruling on blasting, equipment, and noise items
Hartwell Excavating was cited for eight nonserious violations involving explosives, equipment guards and alarms, and occupational noise at an Idaho sewer project. The Secretary moved to withdraw citation items 1 through 4 after the judge's decision. The Commission allowed withdrawal of items 2…
Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
One noise-exposure item affirmed without penalty
OSHA cited four instances in which Sun Ship employees worked without hearing protection in high-noise shipyard operations. In the boiler shop, repeated spot readings exceeded 115 dBA and other evidence showed that an employee had operated near continuous chipping tools for more than the permitted…
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…
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Co.
Noise citation affirmed without a penalty
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric operated a generating station where boiler-room sound readings reached 97 to 103 dBA. The utility had supplied ear protection and was pursuing an engineering solution, but the judge found that it did not consistently require employees to use the protection. The…
Detroit Printing Pressmen Local No. 13, International Printing Pressmen & Assistants Union of North America, AFL-CIO
Union's noise-abatement extension request dismissed
OSHA cited the Evening News Association for excessive workplace noise and set deadlines for temporary protection and longer-term controls. Neither the employer nor the union contested the citation, so it became final. The union later asked the Commission to extend the abatement period because the…
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.