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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Boston Towing and Transportation Co.
Marine-access citations vacated for lack of fair notice
Boston Towing operated a marine terminal in Quincy, Massachusetts, where employees sometimes used a ladder between a pier and a barge at extreme low tide. OSHA investigated after a weekend watchman was found in the water near a ladder, although no one witnessed how he fell. The Secretary withdrew…
Granite City Terminals Corporation
Clam shell bucket access citation vacated
Granite City used a crane-mounted clam shell bucket to move employees between its Mississippi River dock and barges when low water made the access methods specifically listed in the standard unreasonable. The Commission held that the Secretary bore the burden of proving that this alternative was…
John Deere Foundry, a Division of Deere Company; Bunge Corporation
Selective settlement approval rejected
In two cases, the judge approved selected settlement terms while rejecting non-admission provisions and entering factual findings without a hearing. The Commission held that it may review settlements for consistency with the Act but may not rewrite them through selective approval. It also held that…
ADM Grain Co., Inc.
Maritime citations reinstated after postal-delay remand
ADM Grain received 12 other-than-serious maritime and workplace citations involving flotation devices, rescue and first-aid equipment, grain-spout certification, barge access, ladders, wire-rope clips, machinery guarding, accident reporting, and waste containers. The first judge vacated the entire…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.