Ezel / Agency Decisions / 99-0317

RNC, Inc. (ALJ decision, April 17, 2000)

Companion-case stipulation yields split result

Decision type
ALJ decision
Docket
99-0317
Decided
April 17, 2000
Presiding judge
Sidney J. Goldstein
Outcome
Mixed result
Precedential status
Final order, not precedent
Checked against source
2026-07-23
Official source
Read the official release (oshrc.gov)
PDF
View Official PDF

Apply this to your situation

This order from 2000 bound only the parties to this case; it isn't precedent. Ask about your situation and see what the current OSHA standards and Commission precedent say, with citations.

Currency note: this decision dates from 2000
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.
Final order, not Commission precedent
This decision by an OSHRC Administrative Law Judge became a final order of the Commission because no Commissioner directed review (29 U.S.C. § 661(j)). It binds the parties but is not binding precedent in other cases. 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 agency's own release.
Read the official release (oshrc.gov)

Plain-English summary

OSHA cited RNC, Inc. after investigating a workplace fatality. RNC and the Secretary stipulated that the outcome of the related Summit Habitats, Inc. case would control RNC's citation. After deciding the companion case, the judge applied that result to RNC. Citation Item 1 was vacated, while Items 2 and 3 were affirmed. The assessed penalties totaled $3,600.

Decision snapshot

  • Cited standard(s): None identified in the decision.
  • Outcome: Mixed. Item 1 was vacated, while Items 2 and 3 were affirmed with penalties of $2,100 and $1,500.
  • Key point: A stipulation can make the result of a companion proceeding dispositive of another employer's citation.

Full text (OSHRC public release)

                                                     |
SECRETARY OF LABOR,                                  |
     Complainant,                                    |
                                                     |
       v.                                            |
                                                     |              OSHRC DOCKET
RNC, INC.,                                           |              NO. 99-0317
                                                     |
       Respondent.                                   |
                                                     |

                                         AMENDED
                                    DECISION AND ORDER
       After a compliance officer for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
investigated a workplace fatality, that Agency issued citations to Summit Habitats, Inc. and to the
Respondent, RNC, Inc., for the violations of safety regulations adopted by the Administration under
the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. To avoid duplicity of hearings, the Secretary of
Labor and RNC, Inc. filed a Stipulation of Parties wherein it was agreed that the outcome of the
Summit Habitats, Inc. case would be dispositive of the citation issued to RNC, Inc.
       The undersigned has issued his decision in the Summit Habitats, Inc. matter.
       Based upon the terms of the Stipulation of Parties, the citation in the RNC, Inc. matter is
disposed in the following ruling:
       Citation 1, Item 1 is VACATED.
       Citation 1, Item 2 is AFFIRMED with a penalty of $2,100.00.
       Citation 1, Item 3 is AFFIRMED with a penalty of $1,500.00.




                                                            Sidney J. Goldstein
                                                            Judge, OSHRC
Dated: March 6, 2000

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