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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.

5,577 decisions and counting · Latest decision July 17, 2026
16 decisions 29 C.F.R. § 1926.451(f)(3)

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ALJ

Palacios Marine & Industrial Coating, Inc.

Six scaffold-related citation items vacated

Palacios Marine employees were erecting a scaffold-based shelter at a Texas petrochemical plant when a wooden plank broke and a scaffold builder fell seven feet, suffering broken bones that required reconstructive surgery. OSHA cited the company for alleged failures involving employer-provided and…

March 27, 2023 ·Patrick B. Augustine
Citations vacated
ALJ

Brady SoCal, Inc.

One scaffold guardrail violation affirmed and two allegations vacated

Brady SoCal supplied a scaffold for its framing and drywall work at a casino renovation where an employee of another subcontractor later fell from the roof and died. OSHA cited Brady for an inadequate scaffold inspection and for missing guardrails at two locations. The judge declined to apply…

October 29, 2020 ·Patrick B. Augustine
Mixed result
ALJ

E&N Construction, Inc.

Four scaffold items affirmed and penalties reduced

E&N Construction employees installed brick veneer from a two-tier scaffold at an apartment project. OSHA cited inadequate platform planking, unsafe frame climbing, failure to inspect the scaffold before the shift, missing fall protection above 10 feet, and a missing cross-brace. The judge affirmed…

February 15, 2018 ·Dennis L. Phillips
Mixed result
ALJ

Midwest Steel, Inc.

Scaffold items affirmed after fatal fall

A Midwest Steel ironworker fell 33 feet from a temporary platform while welding steel columns at a hospital construction project and died. The judge vacated allegations concerning the worker’s synthetic lanyard because OSHA did not prove the cited heat-related hazard under the general duty clause…

October 16, 2017 ·Patrick B. Augustine
Mixed result
ALJ

Mast Climber Manufacturing, Inc., d/b/a American Mast Climbers

Scaffold items split, design violation willful

Mast Climber Manufacturing erected and serviced a mast-climbing work platform on a 21-story construction project. Four contractor employees fell when one side of the platform collapsed, and three died. The judge held that the system was a scaffold, not an aerial lift, because it was not…

March 8, 2013 ·Ken S. Welsch
Mixed result
ALJ

NLJ Builders, Inc.

Controlling contractor held responsible for unsafe scaffold

NLJ Builders subcontracted carpentry work at a Florida bank project and supplied the subcontractor with a scaffold owned by NLJ. A subcontractor employee worked about 15 feet above the ground on a platform that was less than half planked, lacked a firm base and guardrails, and had not been erected…

July 16, 2012 ·Ken S. Welsch
Citations affirmed
ALJ

D & D Masonry Services, Inc.

Scaffold violations largely affirmed with reduced penalties

D & D Masonry used a multilevel scaffold for masonry work at a Georgia construction site. OSHA found wide platform gaps, damaged planks, unsecured scaffold legs, missing fall protection and a midrail, and a closed stepladder used as access. The judge affirmed those scaffold and ladder conditions as…

June 21, 2012 ·Stephen J. Simko, Jr.
Mixed result
ALJ

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…

June 13, 2012 ·John H. Schumacher
Mixed result
ALJ

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…

March 16, 2012 ·Stephen J. Simko, Jr.
Mixed result
ALJ

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…

October 13, 2009 ·Covette Rooney
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Building Contractors, Inc.

Respiratory-program citation vacated

Building Contractors dry-cut masonry brick at a shopping-mall construction site, generating dust that a bulk sample showed contained 50 percent silica quartz. OSHA cited the company for lacking a respiratory protection program, and the judge held that the general-industry respiratory standard…

March 20, 2006 ·Nancy J. Spies
Citations vacated
ALJ

Benson Associates

Scaffold foundation, inspection, and fall-protection items affirmed

Benson Associates used a pump-jack scaffold and planks 13 to 14 feet above the ground while installing soffit and fascia on a Denver house. OSHA found that the scaffold legs lacked proper base plates and that the makeshift fall protection consisted of an Alumibench and boards attached with…

May 23, 2005 ·Sidney J. Goldstein
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Ingram Plastering and Company, Inc.

Scaffold and hard-hat violations resulted in $10,800 in penalties

Ingram Plastering employees performed exterior stucco work from scaffolding up to about 23 feet high. The judge found that work levels were not fully planked, no qualified competent person inspected the scaffold before shifts, employees did not consistently wear hard hats, and one employee lacked…

July 5, 2002 ·Ken S. Welsch
Modified
ALJ

Nu-Waay Enterprises, Inc.

Safety-program, first-aid, and fall-protection citations affirmed after a 24-foot fall

Nu-Waay Enterprises is a small construction company that built an elevated walkway and observation platform at a national wildlife refuge in Mississippi. While a crew was removing the formwork under the finished platform, a stuck I-beam broke loose, catapulting a worker who fell about 24 feet and…

January 12, 2001 ·Ken S. Welsch
Citations affirmed
ALJ

Hollywood Pool & Spa

Scaffold violations grouped with a $1,500 penalty

Hollywood Pool & Spa maintained swimming pools and was constructing its own building in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. OSHA cited five serious scaffold conditions involving incomplete planking, inadequate support, improper access, lack of a competent-person inspection, and missing fall protection. The…

June 23, 2000 ·Stephen J. Simko, Jr.
Modified
ALJ

Texas A.C.A., Inc., and its successors

Scaffold citations vacated for foreman misconduct

Texas A.C.A. employees performed stucco work from an incomplete scaffold with missing bracing, incomplete planking, unstable supports, unsafe access, and inadequate fall protection. The foreman knew the crew was assigned to roof work and that the scaffold was unfinished, but moved them onto it…

August 13, 1999 ·Stanley M. Schwartz
Citations vacated

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.