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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Nooter Construction Co.
Cylinder and ladder items affirmed, scaffold item vacated
Nooter Construction was building coke drums at a New Jersey refinery when OSHA cited compressed-gas-cylinder, ladder, and scaffold conditions. The Commission reversed the ALJ's cylinder ruling, holding that a three-sided cylinder truck was not suitable when its securing chain was left open and the…
National Industrial Constructors, Inc.
Power-plant construction violations resolved
The Commission reviewed numerous fall-protection, trenching, machine, electrical, scaffold, ladder, fire-extinguisher, and equipment-alarm items from construction of a Nebraska power plant. It rejected dismissal for delayed citation issuance because the employer did not prove prejudice. It held…
T. J. Service Company
Ladder penalty cut and extinguisher citation reinstated
T. J. Service operated an oil-well workover rig whose derrick man climbed an unprotected fixed ladder to a work platform about 44 feet above the ground several times each day. The Commission affirmed a serious violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1926.450(a)(5) because the ladder lacked a cage, offset…
G & G Tong Rental Company
Derrick fall and escape citations affirmed
G & G Tong used a 75-to-80-foot derrick to service an oil well. The derrickman rode the hoist hook without tied-off fall protection, and the derrick lacked both an emergency escape line and a ladder safety device. The company admitted the conditions violated the cited standards but argued that the…
George Hyman Construction Company
Six repeated classifications stand after a divided Commission
George Hyman admitted six construction violations involving material storage, electrical grounding, temporary-light guards, ladder clearance, floor-edge guarding, and crane operation. Each standard had been cited previously at another nearby Hyman worksite, and those earlier citations had become…
B.W. Drilling, Incorporated
Derrick-ladder violation affirmed with penalty reduced to $175
B.W. Drilling operated an oil-and-gas drilling rig with a fixed ladder rising about 90 feet up the derrick. The company stipulated that rung spacing exceeded 12 inches, rear clearance was less than seven inches at some points, and the ladder had neither a cage nor an alternative ladder-safety…
The Mayronne Company
Fatal derrick-ladder violation reduced from willful to serious
A derrickman fell 60 to 70 feet to his death while helping move a snatch block during rig-down. A ladder rung had only three to four inches of clearance behind it, and the rig’s counterweight ladder-safety system was unavailable after the derrick crown had been telescoped down. The worker also was…
Francisco Tower Service, Inc.
Willful fixed-ladder citation and $1,200 penalty affirmed
Francisco Tower Service installed equipment on a 270-foot television transmission tower using a fixed ladder without a cage, landing platforms at twenty-foot intervals, or an installed ladder-safety device. Two employees began climbing the ladder, and one fell about 85 feet and died. The…
Urban Builders, Inc.
Citations affirmed despite incorrect company name
Urban Builders was the general contractor for an apartment project cited for two serious violations and multiple nonserious violations. OSHA mistakenly addressed the citations to Urban Developers, Inc., a different corporate name. Urban Builders' president had attended the inspection conferences…
Mississippi Valley Erection Co. of Tennessee
Lifeline item reinstated but final order is missing
Mississippi Valley Erection received multiple citations involving float scaffolds, fall protection, temporary flooring, ladders, ropes, planking, air hoses, welding, and safety nets during structural steel work. The Commission held that an air-hose item had become a final order because the company…
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.