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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Davis H. Elliot Construction Company, Inc.
Power-line approach citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
A Davis H. Elliot lineman was electrocuted when a conductive tie contacted an energized 7,200-volt line while he worked from an aerial bucket. He was not using rubber gloves, sleeves, or insulating line covers, although the equipment was available and he had used it on the previous three poles that…
MasTec North America, Inc., successor of Weeks Construction, Inc.
Energized-line citation vacated and general-duty claim remanded
A MasTec employee was fatally electrocuted while removing slack from an energized 7,200-volt utility line after the cut ends swung into his body. OSHA alleged that the employee worked inside the minimum approach distance without adequate insulation, even though he wore voltage-rated gloves and…
New River Electrical Corp.
Energized-line clearance citations vacated
New River Electrical was installing energized utility lines in Ohio when an experienced journeyman lineman died after his bare hand held a grounded neutral line and his upper body contacted an energized metal fitting. OSHA cited two electrical-clearance provisions. The judge held that the…
Williams Construction Co., Inc.
Final power-line citation withdrawn and $80,000 fee settlement approved
The case arose from citations issued after an accident at Williams Construction Co., Inc.'s Montana electrical power-line construction worksite. After other items had been withdrawn, the only remaining item alleged that an employee approached energized parts too closely with a conductive object…
Georgia Power Company
Aerial-lift design item affirmed and two items vacated
A Georgia Power lineman was seriously burned when an exposed metal jibholder on an aerial lift contacted an energized line. The Commission held that the aerial-lift standard validly required employers to acquire equipment designed under sound engineering principles, and that the jibholder's design…
Union Electric Company, Geraldine District
Energized-line clearance violation affirmed
An unprotected Union Electric employee came closer to an energized line than the minimum distance allowed by the construction electrical-clearance standard. The company's rule required rubber gloves when employees came within reach of energized conductors, but it did not state the specific minimum…
Consumers Power Company
Electrical citation vacated because tree trimming was maintenance work
Consumers Power assigned tree trimmers in an insulated bucket truck to prune branches near a deenergized 41.6-kilovolt line. OSHA alleged that the company failed to tag, test, and ground the line and allowed an employee to work within the clearance required when a line must be treated as energized…
Utilities Line Construction Company, Inc.
Line-status violation affirmed, clearance item vacated
Utilities Line Construction was upgrading a Massachusetts power line when a journeyman lineman contacted a 2,400-volt line and was electrocuted. The crew had noticed the new line but did not determine whether it was energized, even though it could have checked within minutes. The Commission…
L. E. Myers Co.
Live-line tool citation vacated for inadequate notice and proof
An L. E. Myers lineman was fatally electrocuted while working on an energized distribution line with a hot stick whose hook spring was broken. The citation alleged that the defective tool was used within the required clearance, while the Secretary later introduced evidence about failures to inspect…
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.