Cranesville Aggregate Companies, Inc., d/b/a Scotia Bag (Commission decision, March 13, 2018)

Plain-English summary

An administrative law judge vacated six OSHA citations after concluding that Mine Safety and Health Administration standards applied to the cited conditions and preempted OSHA authority. That ruling became a final Commission order. The Second Circuit reversed, holding that the Commission had not given proper deference to the Secretary's reasonable determination that OSHA standards applied. The Commission remanded the consolidated cases to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for reassignment and further proceedings consistent with the court's opinion.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standard(s): The remand order does not identify the substantive OSHA standards.
• Outcome: Consolidated cases remanded for further proceedings after the Second Circuit reversed the jurisdictional vacatur.
• Key point: The Commission must apply the court's ruling on deference to the Secretary's determination that OSHA standards govern the cited conditions.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

Pellegrino, Anthony
Normal
OChair
3
4
2018-03-14T13:43:00Z
2018-03-14T13:45:00Z
2018-03-14T13:46:00Z
1
277
1582
OSHRC
13
3
1856
16.00

Clean
Clean

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

United
States of America

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
REVIEW COMMISSION

1120
20 th Street, N.W., Ninth Floor

Washington,
DC 20036-3457

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

Complainant,

v.

OSHRC Docket Nos. 09-2011 & 09-2055

CRANESVILLE AGGREGATE COMPANIES, INC., d/b/a SCOTIA BAG PLANT,

Respondent.

REMAND ORDER

Before: � M ac DOUGALL , Chairman; ATTWOOD and SULLIVAN, Commissioners.

BY THE COMMISSION:

This case is before the
Commission on remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. � Sec�y of Labor v. Cranesville Aggregate Cos. , 878 F.3d 25 (2d Cir. 2017). � Former Administrative Law Judge Ken S. Welsch vacated six citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, concluding that the Mine Safety and Health Administration�s standards, rather than OSHA�s, applied to the cited conditions. � Cranesville Aggregate Cos. , 24 BNA OSHC 1115, 1123 (No. 09-2011, 2013) (consolidated) (ALJ) (�Because MSHA has statutory authority to regulate the working conditions[ ,] . . . MSHA preempts OSHA�s authority under

� 4(b)(1) of the [OSH] Act.�). � The
judge�s decision became the final order of the Commission. � Cranesville Aggregate Cos. , 25 BNA OSHC 2001 (No. 09-2011, 2016) (consolidated). � The Second Circuit reversed, ruling that �the Commission did not afford proper deference to the Secretary�s reasonable determination� regarding applicability of OSHA�s standards. � 878 F.3d at 36.

By mandate filed February
27, 2018, the court has remanded this case to the Commission. � We, in turn, remand this case to the Chief Administrative Law Judge for reassignment and further proceedings consistent with the court�s opinion.

SO ORDERED.

/s/ ��������������������������������������������������������

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Heather L. MacDougall

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Chairman

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� /s/ ��������������������������������������������������������

����������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������� Cynthia L. Attwood

Commissioner

/s/ ��������������������������������������������������������

James J. Sullivan, Jr.

Dated: March 13, 2018 ���������������������������������������������� Commissioner