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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Pettengill Family Restoration, LLC
Four construction citations vacated
Pettengill Family Restoration subcontracted crews to assemble panelized houses at residential construction sites. Four OSHA inspections produced serious and repeat-serious citations involving head and eye protection, fall protection, scaffolds, and ladders, with proposed penalties totaling $78,701…
JMT Services, Inc.
Six citations vacated because workers were independent contractors
JMT Services supplied a crew for framing and roofing work at an airport hangar project in Chillicothe, Missouri. OSHA issued six citations covering eye protection, scaffold support, equipment safety, fall protection, ladders, and forklift training, with $30,675 in proposed penalties. The parties…
Elite Builders, Inc.
Willful residential fall violation affirmed
Elite Builders' owner and four workers were framing the owner's two-story house in Gretna, Nebraska. OSHA found workers without eye protection, on an unsecured forklift-supported platform without fall protection, using an unguarded stairway, and framing on a roof without fall protection. The judge…
Ireland Contracting, LLC
Roofing citations vacated because subcontractors controlled the work
Ireland Contracting sold and scheduled two residential roof replacements in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, then hired separate subcontractors to supply and supervise the roofing crews. OSHA cited Ireland Contracting for fall protection, eye protection, powered-industrial-truck, and scaffold violations…
Nemeckay's Roofing and Home Improvement Company
Four roofing citations vacated for lack of employee proof
OSHA cited a sole-proprietor roofing business for alleged head, eye, fall, and ladder protection violations observed at a two-story house. The judge rejected the proprietor's claim that OSHA's observations and brief entry onto the property violated the Fourth Amendment. OSHA still had to prove that…
Juan G. Quevedo-Garcia
Corporate veil pierced for OSHA penalties
Five consolidated cases involved 33 construction violations issued to BB Frame LLC and its owner, Juan G. Quevedo-Garcia, including serious, repeat, and willful violations involving fall protection, eye and head protection, and stairways and ladders. BB Frame withdrew its contests, leaving only…
Framing Specialist, Inc.
Five residential-construction items affirmed
Two inspections of Framing Specialist residential projects found employees working without eye protection, using an access ladder that extended only two feet above the landing, standing on the top of a stepladder, and working at heights of 8 to 25 feet without effective fall protection. The judge…
Bonded Roofing Services, Inc.
Roofing safety citations affirmed
OSHA observed three Bonded Roofing workers on a commercial roof without fall protection. One employee used a pneumatic nail gun without approved eye protection, and the access ladder did not extend at least three feet above the roof landing. The company owner was onsite and signed an inspection…
R. K. Wallace Construction Inc. d/b/a Wallace Steel Erectors
Eye and fall-protection violations affirmed
Wallace Steel Erectors was a subcontractor on a Mississippi construction project. OSHA observed one employee cutting metal with an angle grinder without eye protection and five employees working about 15 feet above concrete without being tied off or otherwise protected from falls. The judge found…
FAMA Construction, LLC.
Roofing safety violations affirmed at two residential sites
FAMA Construction arranged roofing work at two residential construction sites in Lawrenceville, Georgia. OSHA cited ladder, eye protection, and fall protection violations involving two roofing crews. The judge found that FAMA was the workers' employer and, alternatively, a controlling employer that…
Richard Hargrove d/b/a R. H. Construction
Five repeat construction items vacated for lack of employer coverage
OSHA cited R. H. Construction after observing framing work from a narrow, unsecured forklift-supported platform nearly ten feet above the ground. The workers also lacked cited head, eye, and fall protection, and OSHA alleged that one worker had not received required scaffold training. All five…
Penney's Construction Company, LLC
Willful trench violations affirmed after work continued
Penney's Construction replaced a sewer line in a 10-foot-deep trench with vertical, fissured walls and no cave-in protection. Employees also encountered flowing sewage, possible atmospheric hazards, an edge-side spoil pile, unprotected use of a cut saw, and public traffic without high-visibility…
Custom Built Marine Construction, Inc.
Eye-protection citation affirmed for jackhammer work
Custom Built Marine was renovating a Florida boat ramp when OSHA saw an employee use a jackhammer without eye protection while a supervisor stood nearby, also without eye protection. Two pairs of protective eyewear were available at the site. The judge vacated the item after concluding that the…
Sandy Woodmansee d/b/a S.A.W.S.
Roofing eye and fall protection items affirmed
S.A.W.S. was repairing a Massachusetts residential roof when OSHA found its sole employee using a pneumatic nail gun without eye protection and working on the roof without fall protection. The roof ranged from 6 feet 10 inches to 13 feet above the ground. The nail-gun manual warned of severe eye…
P.J. Spillane Company, Inc.
Respirator and scaffold citation items split
P.J. Spillane employees performed masonry tuck-pointing from scaffolds at a Boston worksite. The judge affirmed a serious respirator-program item after OSHA found a dirty, deteriorated respirator and facial hair that interfered with face seals. A missing safety data sheet for a corrosive cleaner…
Virginia Construction & Management Company, Inc.
Willful canopy fall violation affirmed
Two Virginia Construction employees chipped concrete on a canopy 16 feet 7 inches above a sidewalk without fall protection, safety-toe footwear, hard hats, or eye protection. They accessed the canopy by climbing an inadequately configured scaffold, and the company lacked qualified scaffold…
Summer & Winter Contruction, LLC
Roofing safety violations yield $89,000 in penalties
OSHA inspected Summer & Winter roofing crews at two New Hampshire sites and found extensive fall-protection and related safety violations. At the first site, workers used body belts, shared anchors, worked beneath a raised lift, used a damaged ladder, and accessed a steep roof without compliant…
Denny Maize Construction
Eight serious construction items affirmed
Denny Maize Construction did not appear at the hearing, and OSHA's inspection evidence was undisputed. Workers lacked hard hats and eye protection, used circular saws with blade guards wedged open, and used damaged or improperly spliced extension cords. OSHA also documented an undersized scaffold…
Carson Concrete Corp. and Carco Construction Corp.
Citations affirmed after refusal to proceed
Carson Concrete and Carco Construction sought a continuance four days before a long-scheduled hearing after changing counsel and disavowing earlier discovery responses. The judge found that the companies had known the hearing date for months, had not opposed key motions, and had waited until the…
Stahl Roofing, Inc.
Roofing safety citations vacated for lack of employer knowledge
OSHA cited Stahl Roofing after employees at two residential worksites lacked required fall protection and, at one site, eye protection. The Commission found that Stahl had appropriate work rules, training, site inspections, and progressive discipline, and that the employees' prior safety records…
Thompson Electric, Inc.
Eye-protection and recordkeeping items affirmed
A Thompson Electric crew worked inside a vault near energized 4,160-volt cable terminations, and no crew member wore eye protection. The crew supervisor received a fatal electric shock when his elbow contacted a tiny exposed spot in insulating tape on an adjacent energized lug. The judge affirmed a…
European Craft Construction, Inc.
Default affirmed three safety items and $4,000 penalty
European Craft Construction stopped participating after an initial prehearing conference. The company did not join later conference calls, return messages, help prepare the joint prehearing statement, or respond to an order to show cause. The judge found that the company had received the…
D.C. Pagers, Inc., d/b/a Superior Service
$5,224.47 fee award granted
D.C. Pagers prevailed in an earlier case after two electrical-safety items were vacated and a third item citing a nonexistent standard was dismissed. It sought attorney fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge found that the Secretary was not substantially justified in…
D.C. Pagers, Inc., d/b/a Superior Services
Electrical-training and eye-protection items vacated
D.C. Pagers performed electrical contracting work at a site in St. Clairsville, Ohio. OSHA alleged that employees lacked safety training for live electrical work and did not use appropriate eye protection while checking an electrical panel or cutting PVC pipe. The judge found that OSHA had not…
Raytheon Constructors, Inc., and its successors
Medical, eye-protection, electrical, and fall items are vacated
Raytheon was building a chemical-weapons disposal incinerator at the Umatilla Army Chemical Depot in Oregon. After an unknown chemical exposure sickened workers, OSHA cited the company for inadequate access to medical advice, but the judge found that qualified emergency medical technicians were…
New York State Electric & Gas Corp.
PPE citations vacated because employer knowledge was not proved
New York State Electric & Gas Corporation sent a two-person crew to install residential gas service in Binghamton, New York. An OSHA compliance officer saw one crew member operating a jackhammer without eye protection and later determined that he also lacked protective footwear, although both forms…
Eslich Wrecking Company
Lead items affirmed, eye and asbestos items vacated
Eslich performed labor and light demolition during renovation of the Cleveland Public Library, including demolition of walls coated with lead paint. Judge Stephen J. Simko, Jr. affirmed the grouped serious lead items because Eslich conducted no initial exposure assessment and did not provide the…
Grayhawk of America, Inc.
Four construction safety violations affirmed after employer failed to appear
OSHA cited Grayhawk of America for four serious construction safety violations involving head protection, eye and face protection, unprotected deck edges, and unguarded floor openings. The employer received notice of the hearing but did not appear or request a postponement. The compliance officer…
Black Construction Corp.
Eye-protection citation vacated, scaffold citation downgraded to de minimis
Black Construction Corporation was a contractor working on a Naval Hospital renovation project in Agana Heights, Guam. After a November 1996 inspection, OSHA cited the company for two serious violations: an employee drilling metal frames without eye protection, and a wood pole scaffold about 18…
Franklin E. Skepton Contractor, amended to Skepton Contracting Inc.
Hard-hat and LP-gas items affirmed
Skepton was a prime contractor on a middle-school construction project. The judge affirmed a repeat hard-hat violation after the superintendent walked near a moving backhoe without head protection, finding he had access to a possible impact hazard. She vacated an eye-protection item because Skepton…
Meridian Contractors, Inc.
Dismissals reversed and citation cases remanded
OSHA issued Meridian Contractors serious and willful construction citations with proposed penalties after two inspections. The ALJ dismissed both cases under Commission precedent treating the actions as moot because Meridian had stopped employing workers and was preparing to dissolve. After that…
James Construction
Controlling employer liable for subcontractor hazards
James Construction supervised a siding subcontractor and controlled its work approval and payment. The judge held that James could not ignore repeated safety violations merely because stronger enforcement might delay the job or reduce profits. Serious items involving eye protection, unguarded…
Tri-State Construction, Inc. and National Engineering & Contracting Company
Inspection upheld and bridge-edge item vacated
Tri-State and National worked on a multi-employer interstate-highway rehabilitation project in Cincinnati. The employers challenged OSHA's initial warrantless inspection of an outdoor bridge work area and the later project-wide inspection conducted under a warrant. The Commission held that the…
Clarence M. Jones, d/b/a C. Jones Co.
Ladder, protective equipment, and posting violations affirmed
Clarence M. Jones was renovating an apartment building with workers under a foreman's supervision. OSHA cited defective ladders, the failure to use head and eye protection, and the failure to post the required OSHA notice. The Commission held that Jones was an employer covered by the Act, his local…
Vanco Construction Company
Eye-protection violation affirmed for concrete chipping
Two Vanco employees chipped hardened concrete with a sledgehammer and an electric hammer without eye or face protection. Concrete chips and dust traveled as far as four feet, struck the employees' faces, and caused them to squint, flinch, and brush away debris. The Commission held that OSHA did not…
Stearns-Roger, Incorporated
Four violations upheld and cylinder item vacated
Stearns-Roger was the general contractor building an addition to a New Mexico power plant. On review, the Commission upheld violations involving inadequate eye protection, unguarded floor holes, construction housekeeping, and welding hoses and cables in passageways. It affirmed the housekeeping and…
Big '6' Drilling Company
Rig citations remanded for further evidence
Big '6' Drilling received eight nonserious citations and one serious general-duty citation after an inspection of an oil and gas drilling rig. Its pro se notice focused on the $805 proposed penalties, but its later answer requested a hearing about the inspection and penalties. The Commission…
Calcedo Construction Corporation
Scaffold charge reduced from willful to serious
Calcedo employees worked below overhead steel activity without hard hats, cut brick without eye protection, and used a 25-foot scaffold without a proper access ladder, complete planking, guardrails, or toeboards. The judge affirmed the head, eye, ladder, and scaffold citations. He found the…
Elford, Inc.
Extinguisher and saw-switch items affirmed
Elford was remodeling a building when OSHA issued ten nonserious citation items. Two items were not contested and became final orders. Of the remaining items, the judge affirmed a fire-protection item because the extinguisher near a kerosene storage area had been discharged and was ineffective. The…
Central Building and Cleaning Co., Inc.
Scaffold and protective-equipment violations affirmed
An employee sandblasted from a two-point suspension scaffold 24 feet above a Chicago sidewalk. The judge found that the cornice hooks were securely installed, but the scaffold was improperly tied to window-cleaner anchors, the sandblaster lacked a safety belt and lifeline, and required rails and…
A. A. Will Sand & Gravel Corp.
Conveyor-related construction citations vacated
A. A. Will delivered roofing gravel to a Boston construction site, where its driver released gravel into a conveyor hopper as workers needed it on the roof and occasionally adjusted the conveyor. The Commission held that these activities were more than mere delivery and were an integral part of…
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…
Chicago Bridge and Iron Company
Fall-protection and scaffold items affirmed
Two employees worked 19 and 29 feet above ground on penetration tubes and unsecured planks without tying off, with exposed reinforcing steel below. The Commission affirmed the serious personal-protective-equipment violation and an increased $850 penalty because supervisors could have discovered the…
Dore Wrecking Co.
Eye-protection item vacated and two penalties reduced
Dore Wrecking was demolishing a building with its own employees and specialized subcontractors. The Commission vacated an eye-protection item because the unprotected drill operator worked for a subcontractor, Dore did not control him, and no Dore employee was shown to be exposed to the condition…
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.