Ezel / Agency Decisions / 11329-commission
OSHRC Commission decision Docket 11329 Decided April 1, 1975 Mixed result

Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Co.

Five nonserious items affirmed and three vacated

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Currency note: this decision dates from 1975
The OSHA standards may have been amended, penalty amounts have been adjusted, and later Commission or court decisions may have changed the analysis since then. Treat this page as historical context, not current compliance advice. Verify the current standard before relying on any specific rule, threshold, or penalty mentioned here.
Decision of the Commission
This is a decision of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the highest level of agency review, citable as Commission precedent. It may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance; check subsequent history before relying on it. The full text below is from the official OSHRC release.
About this page: The plain-English summary and decision snapshot below were written by Ezel based on the official OSHRC release. The full text is the Commission's own document.
Read the official release (oshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad argued that it was exempt from the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The judge rejected that position except as to recordkeeping charges, following Commission precedent involving another railroad. The judge affirmed nonserious citation items 1 through 5, assessed $35 for item 1 and $30 for item 5, and vacated items 6 through 8. After the railroad said it did not wish to pursue review, the Commission adopted the judge's decision as its final decision.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard(s): None identified in the decision
  • Outcome: Items 1 through 5 affirmed with $65 in total penalties; items 6 through 8 vacated
  • Key point: The railroad did not pursue review, and the Commission adopted the judge's mixed disposition because it accorded with Commission precedent.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

Docket No. 11329

NORFOLK & PORTSMOUTH BELT LINE RAILROAD COMPANY

OSHRC Docket No. 11329

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

April 1, 1975

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[*1]
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Before MORAN, Chairman; VAN NAMEE and CLEARY, Commissioners

OPINION:

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BY THE COMMISSION: The herein matter was directed for review on March 13, 1975.
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Respondent replied to the direction saying that it does not desire to pursue the matter further.
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The decision of the administrative law judge accords with Commission precedent and is therefore adopted as the final decision of the Commission.
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It is so ORDERED.

[The Judge's decision referred to herein follows]

CHALK, JUDGE: The sole issue raised in this case is whether Respondent railroad is subject to the provisions of 29 USC 651
et seq.
Except for the recordkeeping charges, that issue has been resolved adversely to Respondent's claim of exemption (
Secretary
v.
Southern Pacific Transportation Company,
Docket No. 1348, November 15, 1974).

Items 1 through 5 of Citation number 1 for nonserious violations are affirmed.
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Penalties of $35.00 for item 1 and $30.00 for item 5 thereof are assessed.
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Item numbers 6, 7, and 8 of said Citation are vacated.

SO ORDERED.
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