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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Formwork Services Inc.
Falling-material citation withdrawn and remaining rulings became final
Formwork Services was a concrete-forming subcontractor on an Atlanta high-rise project where falling lumber struck another contractor's employee, who then fell to his death. The judge found a serious general-duty-clause violation for inadequate protection against falling materials, but reduced its…
Mid-States Construction Co., Inc.
Trench and crane rulings affirmed in two-member impasse
Mid-States Construction Co., Inc. was cited over trench shoring, an unbarricaded crane swing radius, and unguarded moving machine parts. Both commissioners agreed that the crane required a physical barricade and affirmed that violation. They disagreed about the trench-shoring violation and whether…
W. G. Cornell Co. of Washington, Inc.
Scaffold guardrail and access violations affirmed under substituted standards
W. G. Cornell employees used a roughly 40-foot tubular scaffold erected by the general contractor. Three upper platforms lacked guardrails, and employees climbed the scaffold's cross-braces because no adequate access ladder was provided. The judge held that the concrete-construction standard…
Suburban Concrete Corporation
Floor-hole and open-side items affirmed, concrete-work charge vacated
Suburban Concrete Corporation had an employee correcting work on the second floor of a construction site after the area had been turned over to the general contractor. OSHA cited an uncovered floor hole and loose cables along open sides of the floor, both within several feet of the employee's work…
Uriel G. Ashworth
Masonry-wall shoring citation vacated
Ashworth was the masonry subcontractor on a school project where tall block walls remained unbraced before the roof trusses were installed. One wall collapsed during a weekend, and a second wall later collapsed, killing one worker and injuring several others. OSHA cited the masonry contractor under…
Tolar Construction Company
Masonry-wall collapse violation affirmed
Tolar constructed a concrete-block wall approximately 20 to 30 feet high without pilasters and with inadequate temporary bracing. A strong wind collapsed the wall while employees were working nearby, and blocks landed as far as 200 to 300 feet from its base. The Commission affirmed a serious…
Scotty Smith Construction Co., Inc.
Crane violation affirmed and saw allegation vacated
Scotty Smith Construction was the general contractor for additions to a YMCA building in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. A company employee was electrocuted while handling a concrete bucket after the boom of a leased crane contacted energized overhead power lines. The judge found that the company chose 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.