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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Stevedoring Services of America
Container fall-protection citation vacated
Two Stevedoring Services of America employees worked on top of cargo containers about 16 feet above a ship's deck after their usual fall-protection system malfunctioned. Their hatch boss knew the system had failed and allowed the work to continue. Judge Michael H. Schoenfeld applied Fourth Circuit…
Marine Terminals Corporation
Longshore fall-protection settlement approved
Marine Terminals employees removed twist locks while working on top of stacked shipping containers aboard a vessel. Two employees worked 24 to 34 feet above the deck without tying off, although they wore harnesses. The judge found that the company had not effectively communicated, supervised, or…
Jones Washington Stevedoring Co.
Fall-protection citation withdrawn
Jones Washington Stevedoring employees worked without fall protection on containers stacked 32 feet above a barge deck. The judge found that safety nets were infeasible but that safety belts tied to temporary container anchor points could provide equal protection. He affirmed the serious…
Chesapeake Operating Company
Deck-cargo item vacated and hardhat item affirmed
Chesapeake, a Baltimore stevedoring company, had employees clearing snow and ice from modular-home sections stowed on a ship's deck without fall protection. A majority agreed that the cited fall-protection standard applied to deck cargo, but the item was still vacated because one Commissioner found…
Seattle Stevedore Company
Serious cargo-edge fall hazard affirmed
Two longshoremen worked atop a 26-foot-high stack of steel pipe while unloading a vessel. For about an hour they crawled to the aft ends of the pipe beside an unguarded three-foot opening to the hold floor, without a safety net, belt, or equivalent protection. The judge found a serious violation…
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.