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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Avadek, Inc.
Competent-person inspection citation vacated
Avadek installed an entrance canopy at a sports and event center in Bryan, Texas. During later quality-control work, a foreman died after falling from the canopy, and OSHA cited Avadek for allegedly failing to maintain frequent and regular competent-person inspections. The judge found that Avadek's…
Barry Billcliff, dba Barry James, et al.
Roofing violations and personal liability affirmed
OSHA inspected roofing work at a hotel and conference center in Devens, Massachusetts, where workers lacked required inspections, head protection, fall protection, training, and compliant ladder access. Barry Billcliff denied controlling the project or employing anyone there, but the judge found…
Raymond – San Diego, Inc.
Gate-inspection and hazard-training citations vacated
Raymond employees were preparing to paint a large sliding gate at a California casino when one 3,000-pound panel moved beyond the roller guide holding it upright and fell, causing fatal injuries to an employee. Another subcontractor had installed the gate, its motor was not yet installed, and…
Fama Construction, LLC
Roofing case remanded for controlling-employer analysis
OSHA cited Fama Construction for inadequate inspections, missing head protection, and missing fall protection at a residential roofing project. An administrative law judge granted summary judgment to the Secretary and affirmed all three violations. The Commission agreed that no material fact was…
Premier Roofing LLC, d/b/a Premier Roofing Co.
Roofing violations affirmed on summary judgment
Premier Roofing served as the general contractor for residential roofing work at the Summerfield Villas in Colorado. An OSHA compliance officer observed about 20 subcontractor employees working on roofs more than six feet above the ground without fall protection, and Premier's own employees also…
Keenan, Hopkins, Suder and Stowell Contractors, Inc., dba KHS&S Contractors
Case dismissed after full settlement
KHS&S Contractors was cited after an employee fell through a covered opening while performing framing and drywall work at a construction site. The citations alleged inadequate jobsite inspections, scaffold and aerial-lift training, and fall-hazard training under three construction standards. An…
Dade Builders Contractors, Inc.
Inspection and fall-protection citations vacated for insufficient proof
Dade Builders subcontracted a masonry crew that worked near an unprotected edge about 16 feet above ground. OSHA cited Dade as a controlling employer for inadequate jobsite inspections and lack of fall protection, proposing $13,260 in total penalties. The judge found that the Secretary did not show…
New Finish Construction, LLC
Electrical and conductive-ladder violations affirmed
New Finish Construction installed a metal roof at a Pennsylvania residence. After the owner threw a steel roof anchor from the roof and it caught on a 12,000-volt power line, an employee climbed an aluminum ladder and used a metal pole to try to dislodge it; he was electrocuted and died. The judge…
Wymac Ent., Inc., dba Work Shop Denver
Secretary’s withdrawal closes case
OSHA cited Wymac Enterprises for an alleged construction-safety violation and proposed a $1,630 penalty. The Secretary withdrew the citation one day before the initial pretrial conference. Wymac then filed motions seeking sanctions, compliance with prior orders, and a stay of the withdrawal. The…
Affordable Roofing and Exteriors, Inc.
Ladder and repeat roofing violations affirmed by default
OSHA observed eleven Affordable Roofing and Exteriors employees working on a steep gas-station roof in Trenton, Illinois without conventional fall protection. The access ladder did not extend three feet above the roof, the company had stopped conducting required safety inspections, and a one-foot…
J. Cook Enterprises, Inc.
Fall-protection citations vacated because employment relationship was not proven
OSHA cited J. Cook Enterprises after a residential framing worker fell 11.5 feet and died. The items alleged inadequate jobsite inspections, lack of residential fall protection, and failure to report the fatality within eight hours. The central issue was whether J. Cook Enterprises employed the…
K.E.R. Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Armadillo Underground
EAJA fees awarded after pipe citation was vacated
Armadillo Underground defended citations arising from a PVC water-pipe explosion that injured four workers. The underlying general duty clause item was vacated because OSHA did not prove that tightening the joint bolts while the line remained pressurized was a recognized hazard, and a separate…
Elliot Construction Corp.
Carbon monoxide violations affirmed as willful
Elliot Construction used gas-powered equipment for an indoor concrete pour, and four employees reported feeling ill from carbon monoxide exposure. Two employees were diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. The foreman knew the equipment produced carbon monoxide and recognized the employees'…
Corrpro Companies, Inc.
Hole fall-protection item affirmed and inspection item vacated
Corrpro employees installed a corrosion-protection system inside a water-treatment structure in Ohio. A first-time field worker stepped into an uncovered two-foot-square hole and fell about 12 feet, sustaining a spinal fracture that required surgery. The judge vacated the competent-person…
Weatherguard Construction Co., Inc.
Subcontractor roof fall violation affirmed
About seven roofing-subcontractor employees installed tar paper on a two-story house without fall protection. Weatherguard was the general contractor and controlling employer, and its field supervisor had visited the site, seen the roof work, and acknowledged that the same subcontractor had also…
All Steel Consultants, Inc.
Roofing citations partly affirmed
All Steel Consultants was installing metal roofing when OSHA observed four employees working without tying off and two others using lifelines with enough slack to contact the lower roof in a fall. The foreman knew the company's tie-off rule but allowed employees to work without following it, and he…
Barnhart, Inc.
Settlement approved after construction-safety decision
OSHA cited Barnhart, the controlling contractor on a Marine Corps barracks renovation, for electrical, floor-hole, fall-protection, training, and inspection issues involving its subcontractors. The appended judge's decision had affirmed three items involving temporary cords, uncovered floor holes…
Ultra Commercial Interiors, Inc.
Unsecured and unmarked floor-cover violations affirmed
An Ultra Commercial Interiors foreman stepped on an unsecured plywood board that covered a floor opening and fell 16 feet, sustaining serious knee and ankle injuries. The cover was neither secured nor marked as a hole or cover. The judge found constructive knowledge because company supervisors knew…
Shawn Telsi, d/b/a Life Time Homes, Green Pines, and/or Telsi Builders
Excavation violations affirmed with $91,200 penalty
Telsi controlled a temple-construction site where subcontractor employees worked in a deep excavation with vertical walls, large spoil piles at the edges, no nearby safe egress, uncovered holes, defective ladders, and uncapped rebar. The judge found Telsi was both the controlling and creating…
Eurotech Construction Corp.
Floor-hole cover citations vacated for lack of knowledge
A Eurotech masonry employee fell about 17 feet through a floor opening on the 45th floor of a high-rise construction project. OSHA alleged deficient inspections, an unsecured and unlabeled cover, and a failure to retrain employees. The judge credited evidence that Eurotech's foreman inspected…
Martorell Construction Company and its Successors
Default case remanded to assess missed hearing
The judge affirmed three serious construction violations and $4,500 in penalties after Martorell failed to appear at the hearing. Martorell later claimed that it had not received written hearing notices and did not remember receiving verbal notice. The Commission treated the filing as a request to…
Acies Group, LLC
Five repeat scaffold violations affirmed
An OSHA officer observed a worker on the unguarded upper level of an Acies scaffold at a New Jersey exterior-finishing project. The scaffold was not fully planked, lacked proper access and cross bracing, had no fall protection, and had not been adequately inspected by a competent person. Acies…
Standard Building Company, Inc., and Standard Systems, Inc.
Three items affirmed against one company and all items vacated against the other
Standard Building managed a restaurant renovation, and Standard Systems was identified as a related stucco contractor. The judge found that a subcontractor owner acted in part as Standard Building's site superintendent but lacked scaffold and powered-industrial-truck safety training. Standard…
Meridian Construction and Development, LLC
General contractor receives $2,000 penalty for site hazards
Meridian was the controlling general contractor on a condominium project where subcontractors created electrical, falling-object, and ladder hazards. OSHA found open temporary power boxes, an inadequately insulated cord splice, missing toeboards above a busy breezeway, and a job-made ladder that…
Reynolds Inc.
Quick-coupler items split and trench violations affirmed
Reynolds was installing a water main when an excavator bucket detached from a hydraulic quick coupler, rolled into an excavation, and fatally struck an employee. The judge vacated the general-duty and safety-program items because Reynolds lacked notice that the experienced operator would skip…
Downrite Engineering Corporation
Manhole safety violations mostly affirmed
Downrite employees installed a sewer manhole invert while one employee worked at the bottom of a 10-foot manhole and another lowered cement, bricks, water, and tools from above. The judge rejected Downrite's Fourth Amendment challenge because the general contractor and Downrite supervisory…
RMS Construction, Inc.
Trench and worksite violations affirmed
RMS Construction was a subcontractor building a block wall in a deep trench on a New Jersey road and bridge project. OSHA found RMS employees working outside the trench box in Type C soil, with no safe egress, no competent-person inspections, uncapped rebar, inadequate hazard training and worksite…
CB&I Constructors, Inc.
Competent-person inspection violation affirmed
CB&I Constructors was erecting a 180-foot water tower in Illinois when an employee fell from a fixed ladder and died. The contested item alleged that designated competent persons failed to make frequent and regular inspections that would have discovered the absence of a required ladder safety…
Designs Unlimited Contractors
Residential roofing violations affirmed
Designs Unlimited Contractors was finishing a residential reroofing job when OSHA observed three workers more than 25 feet above the ground without fall protection. The judge found that the company had not provided competent-person inspections, had removed its fall-protection system before…
Summit Contractors, Inc.
Subcontractor fall-hazard citations vacated for lack of knowledge
OSHA cited Summit, the general contractor for a large apartment project, for several fall hazards affecting subcontractor employees. The judge held that Summit's broad contractual and practical authority made it a controlling employer under the multi-employer worksite doctrine. She vacated the…
Van Tassel Construction Corporation
Roof fall-protection violation affirmed
Van Tassel Construction employees installed decorative wood trusses on a shopping-center roof in Ohio. The judge vacated the allegation that the company's competent person failed to make frequent and regular inspections because the standard did not require an inspection immediately upon arriving at…
R.B. Thomas Electric, Inc.
Aerial-lift and safety-program violations affirmed
An OSHA compliance officer saw a Thomas Electric apprentice working 15 to 20 feet above concrete in an aerial lift without a safety harness. The judge found that the company was still performing construction work and had not arranged regular competent-person inspections or systematically trained…
Rodriquez Cornice Construction Co., and its successors
Five construction violations affirmed
Rodriquez Cornice contested OSHA's citation but did not appear for the scheduled hearing. OSHA's compliance officer testified that employees installing cornice worked about 21 feet above the ground without guardrails or personal fall arrest systems and had not received scaffold training. The…
M & M Roofing, Inc.
A willful residential fall-protection citation cut to serious after a bench trial
M & M Roofing is a residential roofing contractor. OSHA inspected a Mason, Ohio jobsite in August 2000 and issued two citations: a serious citation for not having a program of frequent, regular jobsite inspections by a competent person, and a willful citation for not protecting workers from falls…
Performance Site Management
Cave-in citation affirmed after a fatal trench accident, safety-program and training items vacated
Performance Site Management is a site-development contractor that was installing sewer lines for a housing project in Cleves, Ohio. A trackhoe bucket, attached with a quick-coupler hitch, came loose and fell into an excavation, fatally injuring a worker who was inside. After a fatality…
B & R Wholesale Tire Co.
Truss bracing, competent inspection, and forklift platform violations affirmed
B & R Wholesale Tire was building a roofed addition between two company buildings in Youngstown, Ohio, when a group of 80-foot wood trusses collapsed and one worker sustained a minor injury. The judge found that the trusses lacked sufficient temporary and ground bracing and that some bracing was…
Mac Construction
Fall-protection case settled for $1,100
Mac Construction performed construction work in Wisconsin. OSHA cited the company for inadequate jobsite inspections, insufficient safety training, employees working more than 25 feet above a lower surface without fall protection, and employees using aerial lifts without personal fall-arrest…
Homes by Bill Simms, Inc.
All seven items vacated because the builder did not control its subcontractors
Homes by Bill Simms was a residential general contractor in Springboro, Ohio, that built custom homes using subcontractors. During an August 1999 inspection of three of its home sites, OSHA saw subcontractor employees committing scaffold and fall protection violations and issued Simms a seven-item…
Cleveland Construction, Inc.
Skylight fall item reduced from willful to serious
Cleveland Construction supervised replacement of large skylight panels at a university building. OSHA videotaped the company superintendent and another worker next to an uncovered skylight opening 18 to 22 feet above the floor without fall protection. Judge Ken S. Welsch found the skylight standard…
J & H Reinforcing & Structural Erectors, Inc.
Scissor-lift surface violation affirmed
J & H Reinforcing & Structural Erectors used a scissor lift for welding work at a library construction project in Huntington, West Virginia. The lift tipped when a wheel entered a 5.5-inch-deep offset, and the operator sustained a life-threatening injury. Chief Judge Irving Sommer found that the…
Ruscilli Construction Co., Inc.
Steel-erection citation split and penalties reduced on reconsideration
Ruscilli Construction erected steel for a large warehouse project in Ohio. OSHA issued seven serious citation items involving jobsite inspections, fall protection, compressed-air hoses, and aerial lifts. Judge Ken S. Welsch affirmed the inspection-program item because the designated competent…
Armstrong Steel Erectors, Inc.
Incomplete bridge fall protection supported repeated violation
Armstrong Steel Erectors was constructing a bridge when an ironworker died after falling about 90 feet. The company required 100 percent tie-off but provided only one lanyard per worker and left gaps in its lifeline system, so workers could not remain tied off while moving through several areas…
Michael J. Gresh Painting Co., Inc.
Bridge fall-protection violation affirmed
Michael J. Gresh Painting employees secured containment tarps on a bridge superstructure about 25 to 30 feet above the roadway without tying off. Six employees violated the company's fall-protection policy, including the foreman, who was not wearing a safety belt or harness. Judge Richard…
Honey Creek Contracting Co.
Review vacated after employer failed to brief
Honey Creek Contracting petitioned for Commission review of two administrative law judge decisions concerning excavation work in Homer City, Pennsylvania. After directing the cases for review, the Commission ordered Honey Creek to file a brief or a letter in lieu of a brief within 40 days. Honey…
Megan Construction Company
Subcontractor scaffold violation affirmed
A masonry subcontractor employee worked on a third-level scaffold without guardrails at a project controlled by Megan Construction. Judge Covette Rooney vacated an allegation that Megan lacked a program of frequent and regular inspections because its daily and weekly inspection evidence showed…
Equity Residential Development Corporation
Roofing safety citations affirmed by default
OSHA cited Equity Residential Development Corporation after workers were observed performing roofing work without fall protection at a height of 10.3 feet. The citation alleged that the company failed to have a competent person conduct adequate jobsite inspections and failed to retrain employees on…
Windham Construction Corp.
Fall-protection and aerial-lift violations affirmed
Windham Construction Corporation was repairing structural steel beneath the Gowanus Expressway in New York. An OSHA officer saw an employee ride an aerial lift without tying off, climb onto the basket railing, and work between a shoring tower and a beam without fall protection. The judge credited…
C & D European Stucco and Stone, Inc.
Scaffold and inspection items vacated
C & D European Stucco and Stone, Inc. installed insulation and stucco from scaffolding on a six-story motel project in Georgia. OSHA alleged that employees worked on unguarded scaffold areas and that a competent person had not made regular site inspections. The judge credited the employer's…
Superior Custom Cabinet Company, Inc.
Cabinet-delivery fall citations affirmed
Superior Custom Cabinet Company delivered cabinets to houses under construction. A delivery worker carrying a cabinet upstairs stepped backward from an unguarded second-floor landing and died after the fall. The Commission found Superior's general instruction to avoid unsafe conditions too vague…
Johnson Building Corporation
General contractor inspection and training violations affirmed
Johnson Building Corporation was the general contractor for a retail construction project in Canton, Ohio. OSHA observed subcontractor employees working on trusses, scaffolds, and a platform without fall protection, as well as incomplete scaffolding, unsecured ladders, and work without head…
Geo & Ted Electric Corp.
Two of four contested items upheld against an electrical contractor, two vacated
Geo & Ted Electric Corp. (G&T), a Brooklyn electrical contractor, was one of several contractors renovating New York City's medical examiner building. OSHA inspected after a fatal accident involving a different contractor's employee and cited G&T for serious and repeat violations. By the time of…
Anderson Excavating and Wrecking Company
Demolition fall violation found willful
Three employees manually demolished a bank vault about 35 feet above the ground without safety belts, nets, or other fall protection. The Commission found Anderson plainly indifferent because it provided only vague warnings not to fall, gave inadequate hazard training, and did not have…
Columbia Gas of Ohio, Inc.
Four trench items vacated, cave-in protection violation affirmed for $3,750
Columbia Gas of Ohio, Inc. sent an employee to weld a leaking gas line in an L-shaped excavation dug by an independent contractor in Columbus, Ohio. The Secretary withdrew one citation item before the hearing. Administrative Law Judge Michael H. Schoenfeld vacated the competent-person item because…
Stein, Inc.
Crane inspection and power-line clearance items affirmed
Stein provided a crane and crane operator for installation of a truck scale at an Ohio steel-mill site. A ground worker employed by the scale contractor was electrocuted when the crane boom contacted a 13,000-volt power line. The judge found that Stein remained an employer responsible for its…
Ruhlin Co.
EAJA expense award reduced to $120.08
Ruhlin Company sought fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act after prevailing on two construction citation items. The Commission held that reasonable and necessary attorney travel expenses customarily charged to a client are recoverable, so it allowed $57.04 for mileage and…
The Ruhlin Company
Bridge fall-protection and inspection items vacated, unguarded rebar affirmed
Ruhlin Company was the general contractor building the South Avenue bridge in Youngstown, Ohio. After a 1993 inspection, OSHA cited Ruhlin for three items tied to the work of its steel subcontractor: no fall protection for ironworkers walking the girders, a failure to run frequent and regular…
Danella Construction Corporation of Florida, Inc.
Inspection and power-line-clearance items vacated
Danella Construction was installing telephone lines in Lake Worth, Florida, and used a boom truck to place an eight-foot trench shield. OSHA alleged that the company failed to have competent-person inspections and operated the boom within 10 feet of energized overhead lines. The judge found that…
L.G. Defelice, Inc.
Overhead-line violations affirmed as serious
L.G. Defelice was rehabilitating a section of Interstate 70 near Washington, Pennsylvania, where heavy equipment regularly passed beneath overhead electrical lines. Two machines contacted the lines in separate incidents, and the judge found that Defelice had not trained employees on the specific…
Southern Forming, Inc.
Broad safety violations affirmed at $69,150
Southern Forming, also known as Suncrete Construction, performed concrete formwork at construction sites in Sunny Isles and Delray Beach, Florida. At the Sunny Isles site, an employee fell to his death from a stairway, and OSHA's investigation identified numerous fall-protection, stairway…
Consolidated Rail Corporation
Interlocutory review granted on FRA preemption
OSHA cited Conrail after inspecting employees performing maintenance and repair work on a railroad bridge in Ohio. Conrail moved to dismiss, arguing that the Federal Railroad Administration had exercised authority over railroad-bridge safety and therefore preempted OSHA. The judge denied that…
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.