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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Cleveland Consolidated, Inc.
Electrical citations merged and penalty reduced to $100
Cleveland Consolidated electricians replaced a damaged cable in a narrow, dark corridor while exposed lugs in the same switchbox remained energized at 460 volts or more. An explosion occurred while an employee worked within reach of the energized parts, setting his beard and clothes on fire. The…
Martin Painting and Coating Co.
Power-line citation affirmed
Martin Painting contracted to paint a water tower near high-voltage power lines. An employee working from a boatswain chair contacted the lines and was electrocuted. Management knew the lines had to be deenergized before work near them, but did not tell the painters to wait until the planned…
Howard P. Foley Co.
Commission finds the electrical violations unpreventable
Howard P. Foley Co. employed electricians at a building construction project where a journeyman was electrocuted while installing a 277-volt exit light. A wiring error left the circuit energized even though the circuit breaker shown on the diagram was disconnected, and the employee did not use his…
Massman Construction Co.
General-duty violation affirmed for scaffold near power lines
Massman Construction employees were stripping forms beneath a Kansas City bridge using a 32-foot aluminum scaffold board located above energized power lines. To move the board around an obstructing beam, employees lowered and shifted it while attempting to maintain about two feet of clearance from…
Kingery Construction Company
Forklift-platform hazard charge vacated, other items affirmed
Kingery used a platform attached to forklift forks to place an employee about eighteen feet above the ground for concrete-chipping work. OSHA alleged a serious general-duty violation because the forklift was unattended and the employee had no platform controls. The Commission affirmed vacation of…
Rudolph Marossy
Power-line painting violation affirmed with $100 penalty
Rudolph Marossy operated a very small painting business and allowed an employee to spray-paint a silo within roughly three feet of uninsulated power lines carrying 7,000 volts. The lines were not deenergized or grounded, and no effective insulation or other protection was provided. The employee…
Allan Electric Co., Inc.
Non-serious settlement and $300 penalty affirmed
OSHA cited Allan Electric under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.400(c)(1) as a serious violation and proposed a $600 penalty. In settlement, the Secretary reclassified the item as non-serious and reduced the penalty to $300, and the employer withdrew its contest after stating that the violation was abated…
Yorba Linda Electric, Inc.
Electrical-proximity citation vacated for lack of proof
Yorba Linda Electric was extending a 480-volt electrical system at a Mobil Oil field when an employee working on a pole was found hanging limp from his safety belt and died. OSHA cited the company for allowing work close enough to an energized circuit for contact without effective protection. The…
McCrory Sumwalt Construction Co.
Transformer-proximity citation affirmed with a $300 penalty
McCrory Sumwalt built a temporary enclosure around three energized 7,200-volt transformers at a shopping-center project. To reinforce the enclosure for a scaffold, the superintendent directed an employee to measure inside it near a transformer but did not specify how to make the measurement. 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.