E. A. Roos & Company

Plain-English summary

E. A. Roos contested citation items 1 through 5, 7, and 8, then stipulated that the violations existed and had been abated. The parties agreed that no penalty should be assessed for item 7's ungrounded electric hand tool and that $260 was reasonable for the remaining violations. The judge approved withdrawal, vacated item 7's $35 penalty, and affirmed only items 1 through 4 and 8. The Commission corrected the order to list all contested items, including items 5 and 7, as affirmed. The official release is internally inconsistent about item 7's penalty because the Commission's amended paragraph refers to the proposed penalties for all listed items while leaving the judge's separate paragraph vacating that $35 penalty otherwise unchanged.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standard(s): No specific OSHA standard number is identified in the decision.
• Outcome: Citation items 1 through 5, 7, and 8 were affirmed; the release contains conflicting language about whether item 7's $35 penalty remained vacated.
• Key point: The Commission corrected the judge's incomplete list of affirmed citation items, but the accompanying penalty language is unclear on the face of the official release.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

Docket No. 518

E. A. ROOS & COMPANY

OSHRC Docket No. 518

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

October 17, 1972

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

OPINIONBY: VAN NAMEE

OPINION:

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VAN NAMEE, COMMISSIONER: On September 19, 1972 Judge Ben D. Worcester issued an Order granting Respondent's motion to withdraw its notice of contest, vacating the Complainant's proposed penalty for item 7 of his citation and affirming items 1, 2, 3, and 4 and 8 of the Complainant's citation and the respective penalties proposed therefor.

Pursuant to the authority vested in the members of the Commission by Section 12(j) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C.A. 651
et. seq.,
84 Stat. 1590), I am herewith directing that the Judge's Order be reviewed by the Commission.

We have reviewed the record and note that Respondent's notice of contest controverted items 1-5, 7 and 8 of the Complainant's citation and the penalties proposed therefor.
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Thereafter, the parties stipulated that Respondent had violated the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651,
et. seq.,
) as alleged in the citation.

Accordingly, Judge Worcester's order is hereby amended in paragraph 3 thereof as follows:

3.
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Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 of the citation and the penalties [*2]
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proposed therefor are affirmed.

There being no other error, it is ORDERED that the Judge's order, as amended, be and the same is hereby affirmed as the Final Order of the Commission.

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[The Judge's decision referred to herein follows]

WORCESTER, JUDGE, OSAHRC: The Respondent has moved to withdraw its notice of contest. It has been stipulated by and between the parties that the violations mentioned in the citation did exist; that they had and would remain abated; that no penalty for the violation referred to in Item 7 paragraph IV(f) of the Complaint should be assessed and that a proposed penalty of $260.00 for the remaining violations is reasonable.

The Respondent has tendered the sum of $260.00 in full settlement of the proposed penalty; has agreed to comply with the provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and has complied with the service requirements of 29 CFR 2200.7.
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The authorized representative of the Respondent's employees has acknowledged receipt of copies of the motion to withdraw and the stipulation and has stated that there is no objection.

Upon consideration of the foregoing findings, it is therefore hereby ORDERED that:

1.
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The Respondent's [*3]
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motion to withdraw the notice of contest be granted.

2.
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The proposed penalty of $35.00 for having an ungrounded electric hand tool as alleged in paragraph IV(f) of the complaint be vacated.

3.
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That Items 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 of the Citation and the respective proposed penalties in a total sum of $260.00 be affirmed.
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