Plum Creek Lumber Company

Plain-English summary

Plum Creek Lumber and the Secretary settled multiple citations involving conditions the employer represented had already been abated. Several willful items were changed to serious with a combined $1,000 penalty. Hearing-conservation items were changed from willful to other-than-serious with no penalty, and Plum Creek agreed to maintain an effective program under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(c) through (r). Other citation items remained affirmed with penalties of $760 and $250. OSHA had verified the represented engineering, personal-protective-equipment, and hearing-program abatements during an onsite inspection. The Commission accepted the settlement, with Commissioner Cleary dissenting because service on affected employees had not been certified.

Decision snapshot

• Cited standard(s): 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(c)-(r); the release does not identify the other settled standards.
• Outcome: Settlement approved with reclassified items and combined penalties of $2,010.
• Key point: The agreement resolved the case after OSHA verified abatement and the employer accepted final orders under the amended classifications.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

Docket No. 78-1753

SECRETARY OF LABOR,

Complainant.

v.

PLUM CREEK LUMBER COMPANY,

Respondent.

OSHRC Docket No. 78-1753

ORDER

The Commission accepts the parties' Stipulation and Settlement Agreement
[[1/]]

FOR THE COMMISSION

Ray H. Darling, Jr.

Executive Secretary

Dated:  MAY 25 1984

RAYMOND J. DONOVAN, SECRETARY OF LABOR,

Complainant,

v.

PLUM CREEK LUMBER COMPANY,

Respondent

OSHRC Docket No. 78-1753

STIPULATION AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

I.

Complainant, Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary of Labor, and Respondent, Plum Creek Lumber
Company, have reached agreement on a full and complete settlement of the instant matter
which is currently pending before the Commission.

II.

(a) Complainant hereby amends Item 1 of Citations Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 and Items 1(a)
and 1(b) of Citation No. 8 to allege serious rather than willful violation of the cited
standard.

(b) Complainant hereby amends the combined penalty of $7,000 assessed by the
Administrative Law Judge for the above citation to $1,000.

(c) Respondent hereby withdraws its Notice of Contest to Item 1 of Citations Nos. 4, 5, 6,
7, and 9 and Items 1(a) and 1(b) of Citation 8.

(d) Respondent hereby represents that the conditions alleged in Item 1 of Citations Nos.
4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 and Items 1(a) and 1(b) of Citation No. 8 have been abated by means of
engineering controls or by means of a combination of engineering controls and personal
protective equipment.

STIPULATION AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:  Page One

(e) Respondent hereby agrees to payment of a combined penalty of $1,000 for the above
citation.

III.

(a) Complainant hereby amends Citation No. 10 Items 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) to
allege an other-than-serious rather than a willful violation of the cited standard.

(b) Complainant hereby amends and vacates the penalty of $7,000 assessed by the
Administrative Law Judge and stipulates that no penalty be assessed for the above.

(c) Respondent hereby withdraws its Notice of Contest to Citation No. 10, Items 1(a), 1(b)
and 1(c).

(d) Respondent hereby represents that conditions alleged in Citation 10, Items 1(a), 1(b),
and 1(c) have been abated and that it is now administering and will continue to administer
a continuing, effective hearing conservation program as required by 29 CFR 1910.95(c)
through (r).

IV.

(a) Respondent hereby withdraws its Notice of Contest to Items 1(a) through (h)
of Citation No. 11.

(b) Respondent hereby agrees to payment of the combined penalty of $760 assessed by the
Administrative Law Judge for the above citation.

(c) Respondent represents that the condition alleged in Item 1(a) through (h) of Citation
No. 11 have been abated by means of engineering controls or by means of a combination of
engineering controls and personal protective equipment.

V.

(a) Respondent hereby agrees to withdraw its Notice of Contest to Items 1(a),
1(b), and 1(c) of Citation No. 12.

STIPULATION AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:  Page Two

(b) Respondent hereby represents that the condition alleged in Items 1(a), 1(b), and 1(c)
of Citation No. 12 have been abated by means of engineering controls or by means of a
combination of engineering controls and personal protective equipment.

VI.

(a) Respondent hereby withdraws its Notice of Contest to Item 3 of Citation No. 11.

(b) Respondent agrees to pay the penalty of $250 assessed by the Administrative Law Judge
for this citation.

(c) Respondent hereby represents that the condition alleged in Item 3 of Citation 11 has
been abated.

VII.

The abatements represented by the Respondent in paragraphs II(d), III(d), IV(c) and V(b)
were verified by Complainant's Industrial Hygienist on March 7, 1984, by means of an
onsite inspection.

VIII.

The agreements, statements, stipulations, findings and actions taken herein regarding this
case, which arose under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, are only made for the
purpose of settling these proceedings economically and amicably and no part of this case
shall be used for any purpose, other than proceeding under the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration.

Respondent reserves the right to raise any and all of its defenses to any
subsequent Citation issued under the same standards as here cited, including issues
relating to the validity of those standards.  Respondent acknowledges that, by its
withdrawal of the notice of contest, the citations at issue, as amended herein, become
final orders of the Commission.

STIPULATION AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT:  Page Three

WHEREFORE, based on the foregoing Stipulation and Settlement Agreement, the parties
stipulate that this action should be and hereby is dismissed.

Respectfully submitted,

FRANCIS X. LILLY

Deputy Solicitor of Labor

JOHN J. HYNAN

Deputy Associate Solicitor for

Occupational Safety and Health

DANIEL J. MICK

Counsel for Regional Trial Litigation

JOHN A. AMODEO  DATE

Assistant Counsel for

Regional Trial Litigation

Counsel for Complainant

Secretary of Labor

GREG R. TICHY  DATE

Representative for Respondent,

Plum Creek Lumber Co.

The Administrative Law Judge decision in this matter is unavailable in this
format.  To obtain a copy of this document, please request one from our Public
Information Office by e-mail ( [email protected]
), telephone (202-606-5398), fax (202-606-5050), or TTY (202-606-5386).

FOOTNOTES:

[[1/]] Commissioner Cleary dissents to this order because of lack of
certification of service on affected employees.