Ezel / Agency Decisions / 76-2693-commission
OSHRC Commission decision Docket 76-2693 Decided June 29, 1977 Procedural

Spencer Farms, Inc.

Commission declines sua sponte review and lets the ALJ decision stand

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Currency note: this decision dates from 1977
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

This is a brief Commission order in a case involving Spencer Farms, Inc. Former Commissioner Moran had directed the Administrative Law Judge's decision up for review on the Commission's own motion (sua sponte). Neither party took issue with how the judge disposed of the case. Because no party was dissatisfied, the Commission decided not to review it. The Commission affirmed the judge's decision and gave it only the weight of an unreviewed judge's decision, meaning it binds these parties but is not Commission precedent. The order does not restate what the underlying citations were or how the judge ruled on them.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard(s): none stated in this order
  • Outcome: Affirmed without substantive review; the ALJ decision stands with the significance of an unreviewed judge's decision.
  • Key point: When a case reaches the Commission only on a sua sponte review order and no party contests the judge's disposition, the Commission will not review it.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

Docket No. 76-2693

SPENCER FARMS, INC.

OSHRC Docket No. 76-2693

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

June 29, 1977

Before BARNAKO, Chairman; and CLEARY, Commissioner.

COUNSEL:

Baruch A. Fellner, Office of the Solicitor, USDOL

Bobbye D. Spears, Regional Solicitor, USDOL

John C. Vogt, Jr., for the employer

Charles Kelso, for the employer

OPINION:

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION: This case is before the Commission pursuant to a sua sponte order for review by former Commissioner Moran.

The parties have not taken issue with the Judge's disposition of the case.

In these circumstances, the Commission will not review the case. See Water Works Installation Corp., 76 OSAHRC 61/B8, 4 BNA OSHC 1339, 1976-77 CCH OSHD para. 20,780 (No. 4136, 1976); Crane Co., 76 OSAHRC 37/A2, 4 BNA OSHC 1015, 1975-76 CCH OSHD, 20,508 (No. 3336, 1976).

The Judge's decision is accorded the significance of an unreviewed Judge's decision. Leone Constr. Co., 76 OSAHRC 12/E6, 3 BNA OSHC 1979, 1975-76 CCH OSHD para. 20,387 (No. 4090, 1976).

Accordingly, the Judge's decision is affirmed.

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