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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Gallo Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Construction debris violation narrowed
Employees had to weave through or step over wood, steel, pipe, and equipment at two construction-site elevations. The Commission held that “debris” includes scattered material even if it may be reused, but does not include equipment to be installed or removed. It affirmed the first-elevation…
Charles P. Blouin, Inc.
Stairway-rail violation conditionally affirmed
Charles P. Blouin, Inc. employees used narrow stairways at a multi-employer construction site that lacked railings on both open sides. The sheet-metal subcontractor did not create or control the condition, but the Commission held that employee exposure established a prima facie case. To avoid…
Constructora Maza, Inc.
Construction violations and $4,455 penalties affirmed
Constructora Maza was building a three-building complex in Puerto Rico. OSHA cited missing stair railings, scaffolds supported by concrete blocks, a weakened scaffold plank, unguarded floor edges, unsecured compressed-gas cylinders, and improperly built ladder cleats. The Commission relied on…
James Mellon, d/b/a Huntington Metal Window Service
Floor-opening and hard-hat violations affirmed
Huntington Metal Window Service employees installing windows used a second-floor stairway beside a large opening with incomplete guarding and a 12-foot drop. The judge found that the subcontractor could have covered enough of the opening to protect its workers without creating the union conflict it…
Data Electric Company, Inc.
Three items affirmed and one stairway item vacated
Data Electric was an electrical subcontractor on construction of a municipal services building in New York. It did not create or control the unguarded stairways and floor perimeters, but the Commission held that a noncontrolling subcontractor must take realistic measures to protect its own…
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.