Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Frontera Construction, LLC
Electrical-proximity citation vacated
Frontera Construction was the general contractor at a medical-facility project in Laredo, Texas. Its superintendent directed a ductwork subcontractor's employees to work only in a hallway because adjoining rooms contained energized electrical equipment. After the superintendent left to assist…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0084): Machine, electrical, and mapping citations affirmed
MSHA cited Consol's underground Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield, cracked light globes on a continuous miner, and failure to plot a drill hole that penetrated the coalbed. Judge Michael Young found that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes…
The L.E. Myers Co.
Electrical-safety citations vacated
A journeyman lineman was electrocuted while working near energized 7.62-kilovolt distribution lines at a Florida worksite. His foreman had instructed him to raise a conductive mechanical jumper only high enough to check its length, but the lineman entered the 2-foot-2-inch minimum approach…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0084): Three citations affirmed in original ruling
MSHA cited Consol's underground Bailey Mine for a missing keeper pin on a longwall shield, cracked light globes on a continuous miner, and failure to plot a drill hole that penetrated the coalbed. Judge Michael Young found that the missing pin created a projectile hazard and the cracked globes…
Secretary of Labor v. IMI Aggregates, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. IMI Aggregates, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0122): Berm and guarding citations affirmed
MSHA cited IMI Aggregates at its Indiana sand and gravel mine for a 125-foot section of roadway without an adequate berm and for an unguarded conveyor tail pulley and drive chain. Judge John Sullivan found that frequent two-way traffic near the roadway edge made overtravel and a rollover reasonably…
TNT Crane & Rigging, Inc.
Crane power-line violations affirmed
A TNT Crane & Rigging crew was disassembling a mobile crane when its load line contacted a 14,400-volt power line, seriously injuring a spotter/rigger. OSHA cited TNT for beginning disassembly without an effective encroachment-prevention measure and for failing to maintain the required clearance…
A-1 Sewer and Water Construction, Inc.
Trenching case remanded for a hearing
OSHA cited A-1 Sewer and Water for allegedly allowing an employee to work in an excavation without a protective system and proposed a $1,990 penalty. In Simplified Proceedings, the judge permitted the Secretary to seek summary judgment and then affirmed the citation without holding the hearing…
Todd's Enviroscapes, Inc.
Mower item vacated and reporting item affirmed
A landscaping employee suffered amputations to parts of four fingers after jumping from a riding mower on a 19-degree slope, falling, and having the mower pass over his hand. OSHA cited Todd's Enviroscapes under the general duty clause for using a riding mower on hazardous slopes and separately…
Secretary of Labor obo Frank Cafego v. Civil, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo Frank Cafego v. Civil, LLC (FMSHRC WEVA 2022-0317): Equipment complaints supported temporary reinstatement
Frank Cafego alleged that Civil, LLC fired him after he repeatedly complained about equipment conditions while working as an equipment operator and truck driver. His complaints included an antifreeze leak and missing air conditioning that forced him to drive with open windows amid heavy dust. The…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair (FMSHRC WEVA 2021-0431): Final-order dates controlled violation-history calculation
GMS Mine Repair accepted five citations and their gravity and negligence findings but disputed how MSHA calculated the contractor's violation history for penalty purposes. MSHA counted citations and orders that became final during the preceding 15 months, even if they had been issued earlier, while…
Summit Contracting Group, Inc.
Controlling-employer fall citation vacated
Summit Contracting Group was the general contractor for a multi-building residential project where OSHA observed nine framing-subcontractor employees working without fall protection at heights of 12 to 34 feet. OSHA cited Summit as a controlling employer even though none of Summit's own employees…
Secretary of Labor v. Westfall Aggregate & Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Westfall Aggregate & Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0317 M): No final order without proof of a written citation
Westfall Aggregate & Materials, Inc. asked the Commission to reopen a $16,400 special assessment tied to Citation No. 6559330, about seven years after the assessment allegedly became final. The Commission majority found that the record contained MSHA's internal special-assessment documentation but…
Secretary of Labor v. Stony Creek Quarry Corporation
Secretary of Labor v. Stony Creek Quarry Corporation (FMSHRC YORK 2022-0011): One-year limit barred reopening
Stony Creek Quarry Corporation did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order on April 9, 2020. The company said it left MSHA a message about the assessment and assumed the agency's operations had been disrupted by the pandemic. MSHA later…
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0076): Filing errors justified reopening a default
Warrior Met Coal Mining LLC attempted to answer the Secretary's penalty petition, but the Commission's electronic filing system rejected the submission because the caption contained a typographical error. The company believed the answer had been accepted and also said it did not receive the later…
Secretary of Labor v. Richmond Material Company
Secretary of Labor v. Richmond Material Company (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0048): Prompt motion after a missing assessment supported reopening
Richmond Material Company did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. The company said it never received the assessment and first learned of it through a delinquency letter dated November 17, 2021. It also said mail at the listed address was…
Knock Out Homes Incorporated
Default reinstated and citations affirmed
OSHA issued Knock Out Homes seven citation items involving housekeeping, tools, electrical safety, ladders, fall protection, and training, with proposed penalties totaling $41,349. The company timely contested but did not file an answer or respond to a show-cause order and default motion, leading…
Bergelectric Corp.
Wet-cement eyewash citation vacated
Bergelectric employees watched another contractor pour wet cement over electrical conduit at a casino construction project. OSHA cited the electrical contractor for allegedly lacking a suitable emergency eyewash where employees could be exposed to corrosive cement. The compliance officer did not…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0019): Runaway rail cars showed safeguard violations
Six fully loaded supply cars separated from a brakeman car at Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Bailey Mine and traveled about 1,600 feet down a slope before crashing at the bottom. Two safeguards issued after a similar 2011 accident required properly maintained safety chains and couplers, along…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0010 M): Contest filing triggered Commission jurisdiction
Cactus Canyon Quarries appealed an order that gave the Secretary more time to file a penalty petition and argued that the Commission lacked jurisdiction before that petition was filed. Judge Richard W. Manning rejected that position and held that Commission jurisdiction attached when Cactus Canyon…
S & R Enterprises, LLC
Steel-hoisting citations vacated
S & R Enterprises attempted to hoist a five-ton steel grappler into a renovated power plant so it could hang as a decorative hotel-lobby feature. A padeye tore through an old overhead-crane girder during the lift, causing the load and rigging to fall and seriously injure three employees. OSHA cited…
Secretary of Labor v. JMAC Resources
Secretary of Labor v. JMAC Resources (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0266): Lost contest mail supported reopening
JMAC Resources mailed its notice contesting a proposed penalty on April 22, 2021, within the Mine Act's 30-day deadline. MSHA did not receive the notice, and the assessment became a final Commission order on May 6. JMAC said the notice was lost in the postal system and noted that delivery of the…
Secretary of Labor v. Thermocal Minerals of Idaho, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Thermocal Minerals of Idaho, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0250): Management transition supported reopening
Thermocal Minerals of Idaho LLC did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order in September 2020. The mine had recently changed management, and the departing manager did not pass the assessment paperwork to the new manager. Thermocal learned of…
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Mach Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0195): Isolated processing mistake supported reopening
Mach Mining LLC did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. Its Director of Safety and Compliance failed to follow the usual procedure of immediately forwarding the assessment for review and processing. Mach Mining said this type of mistake…
Secretary of Labor v. Kerford Limestone Company
Secretary of Labor v. Kerford Limestone Company (FMSHRC CENT 2022-0002): Counsel's filing error supported reopening
Kerford Limestone Company did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. Kerford's counsel prepared the contest paperwork on time and emailed it to the firm's administrative staff, but the paperwork was apparently never filed. The Secretary did…
JRD, LLC dba Maslonka Powerline Services
Loader design-limits citation vacated
Two Maslonka Powerline Services employees were killed when a multi-ton utility-pole section fell from a loader's fork attachment during unloading. OSHA alleged that the loader was operated outside its design limitations because the pole was not cradled against the carriage and because the carriage…
Secretary of Labor v. Lo Down Energy, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Lo Down Energy, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2020-0261): Staff illness supported reopening
Lo Down Energy, Inc. did not contest a proposed penalty within 30 days, so the assessment became a final Commission order. The employee responsible for penalty contests was out sick when the assessment arrived and later left the job because of the illness. Lo Down said the staffing disruption…
Secretary of Labor v. Las Vegas Paving Corp.
Secretary of Labor v. Las Vegas Paving Corp. (FMSHRC WEST 2020-0167): Strong filing record supported relief from default
Las Vegas Paving Corporation did not answer the Secretary's penalty petition, and a second show-cause order became a default order. The company said it never received the petition, could not determine why, and acknowledged that a mistake occurred. It described a methodical system for tracking…
Secretary of Labor v. LRock Industries
Secretary of Labor v. LRock Industries (FMSHRC WEST 2018-0449): Split-docket confusion supported relief from default
LRock Industries received citations written one minute apart, but the related penalties were placed in two separate dockets without the operator realizing it. LRock answered the petition in the first docket but not the petition in the second, and the second case went into default. The plant manager…
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2020-0053 M): Timely contest sent to the wrong office was reopened
Lehigh Cement Company LLC tried to contest part of a proposed penalty assessment within the Mine Act's deadline. It mistakenly mailed the contest with payment for uncontested citations to MSHA's St. Louis payment office instead of the correct office in Arlington, Virginia. Lehigh supplied proof of…
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Cactus Canyon Quarries, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0090): Brake alarm violation affirmed, wiper citations vacated
Cactus Canyon Quarries operates a small Texas mine that produces marble for the terrazzo industry. Judge David P. Simonton found that a dump truck's nonfunctioning low brake-pressure alarm violated the rule requiring every braking-system component to remain functional, even though the truck's…
Midwest Equipment Company
Three crane-assembly items affirmed
A Midwest Equipment employee was seriously injured when a 3,400-pound crane jib separated from the boom during assembly and fell on him. The Commission affirmed that Midwest failed to follow the manufacturer's lifting-strap and pivot-pin procedures, failed to ensure crew members understood their…
BC Quarries, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. BC Quarries, LLC
BC Quarries, LLC v. Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Labor v. BC Quarries, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0110-RM): Most withdrawal orders upheld, two vacated
BC Quarries operates the Shirvan Quarry, a Pennsylvania surface mine that produces dimension stone. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy dismissed eight citation contests because BC Quarries did not timely contest the related penalty assessments, which had already become final Commission orders. Of the eleven…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0160): S&S removal authority accepted for review
A judge denied a proposed settlement because the Secretary did not provide enough information to support removing a significant and substantial designation. The judge certified the denial for interlocutory review. The Commission granted review to decide whether the Secretary has unreviewable…
Juan G. Quevedo-Garcia
Corporate veil pierced for OSHA penalties
Five consolidated cases involved 33 construction violations issued to BB Frame LLC and its owner, Juan G. Quevedo-Garcia, including serious, repeat, and willful violations involving fall protection, eye and head protection, and stairways and ladders. BB Frame withdrew its contests, leaving only…
New River Electrical Corporation
Case remanded after court reversal
An administrative law judge had affirmed an OSHA citation against New River Electrical Corporation, and that decision became a final Commission order. The Fourth Circuit reversed the judge's decision and returned the case to the Commission by mandate. The Commission then remanded the matter to the…
Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. KC Transport, Inc. (FMSHRC WEVA 2019-0458): MSHA lacked jurisdiction at offsite truck facility
KC Transport is an independent trucking company that maintained coal-haul and non-mining trucks at an offsite West Virginia facility. MSHA cited two trucks there because they were not blocked against motion while raised for repair. A Commission majority reversed the judge and held that neither the…
Framing Specialist, Inc.
Five residential-construction items affirmed
Two inspections of Framing Specialist residential projects found employees working without eye protection, using an access ladder that extended only two feet above the landing, standing on the top of a stepladder, and working at heights of 8 to 25 feet without effective fall protection. The judge…
AJM Packaging Corporation
Lockout/tagout instance vacated
An AJM Packaging adjuster suffered a partial finger amputation when a raised scrap chute fell while he was clearing a paper jam from a paper-product machine. OSHA alleged that lockout/tagout procedures were required to control the chute's stored gravitational energy. The Commission agreed that the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0047): Unguarded belt drive citation affirmed as S&S
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Harvey Mine, an underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. MSHA cited the company after an inspector found that a moving belt drive roller beside a narrow wooden walkway had no guard in front of it. Judge Alan G. Paez found that miners could use the walkway…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0080): Damaged power cable violation affirmed as S&S
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company after an inspector found a damaged 480-volt power cable supplying a rib bolter at the Enlow Fork Mine. Judge John Kent Lewis found that damage to the outer jacket and inner insulation exposed bare conductor wires in a main travelway and violated the…
Chewy, Inc.
Forklift under-ride hazard citation affirmed
A Chewy warehouse employee was crushed and killed when his stand-up forklift passed beneath a low horizontal storage-rack beam and the beam entered the unguarded operator compartment. Five months earlier, another employee had suffered broken ribs in a similar under-ride incident at the same…
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northshore Mining Company (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0153): Missed electrical grounding tests draw $530 penalty
Northshore Mining Company processes taconite into iron pellets at its Minnesota mine site. MSHA cited Northshore because it had not performed required annual continuity and resistance tests on the grounding systems for six conveyors, two surface water pumps, and two counterweight hoists. Judge…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0046): Shield-pin and mine-map citations modified
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Enlow Fork underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. The company conceded that four longwall shields were missing keeper pins, but Judge Jacqueline R. Bulluck found that the Secretary did not prove the missing pins were reasonably likely to let…
UHS of Westwood Pembroke, Inc. and UHS of Delaware, Inc.
Repeat workplace-violence citation affirmed
Employees at Pembroke Hospital, an inpatient psychiatric facility, were exposed to physical assaults by patients while providing care and responding to crises. The Commission found that the hospital owner and its management company operated as a single employer because they shared the worksite…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Tara Otten v. Continental Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0013): Walkaround representative awarded lost upgrade pay
Tara Otten was a laborer and miners' representative at Continental Cement's Hannibal Underground Mine. While she accompanied MSHA inspectors, the company paid her regular laborer rate instead of the higher mobile-equipment rate she would have received under its seniority practices if she had…
Miller Insulation Co., Inc.
Mezzanine fall citation vacated
A Miller Insulation employee fell from an unprotected mezzanine edge onto the floor below and later died. OSHA cited the company under a general-industry fall standard and, in the alternative, a construction fall-protection standard. The judge found that the general-industry standard did not apply…
84 Lumber Company, dba 84 Lumber Company, a Limited Partnership
Suspended-load citation vacated
An 84 Lumber forklift operator was repositioning a suspended bundle of wood when a contract truck driver unexpectedly ran beneath it. The bundle became unstable, fell, and killed the driver. OSHA cited 84 Lumber under a standard stating that no person may be allowed to stand or pass beneath the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2021-0074): Breaker label and flooded bleeder citations upheld
CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company operates the Enlow Fork underground coal mine in Pennsylvania. MSHA cited the mine because two adjacent high-voltage circuit breakers carried the same equipment label, creating a risk that a miner could deenergize the wrong continuous miner before working on…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Juan Smitherman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Juan Smitherman v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC (FMSHRC SE 2021-0153 D): Retaliatory discharge finding requires reinstatement
Juan Smitherman was a senior roof bolter at Warrior Met's Mine No. 4, a mine subject to frequent methane spot inspections. He raised repeated safety concerns, including a complaint that roof bolting was about to occur without required ventilation controls, and asked to leave his supervisor's…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0008): Cable violation upheld but S&S designation vacated
MSHA cited CONSOL Pennsylvania Coal Company after an inspector found cuts in an energized feeder cable at the Enlow Fork Mine. The Commission affirmed the judge's finding that the cable was not adequately insulated and fully protected, and it upheld moderate negligence. It vacated the significant…
Secretary of Labor v. P.W. Gillibrand of Texas, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. P.W. Gillibrand of Texas, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2021-0104): Missing fire-warning sign violation affirmed
P.W. Gillibrand of Texas operates the Voca West sand plant in Texas. MSHA cited the mine because its grease station lacked a visible sign prohibiting smoking and open flames. Judge David P. Simonton found a fire hazard because an open drip barrel contained combustible paper and rags beside grease…
Bonded Roofing Services, Inc.
Roofing safety citations affirmed
OSHA observed three Bonded Roofing workers on a commercial roof without fall protection. One employee used a pneumatic nail gun without approved eye protection, and the access ladder did not extend at least three feet above the roof landing. The company owner was onsite and signed an inspection…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2021-0160): S&S settlement question certified for review
Knight Hawk Coal and the Secretary proposed settling three citations by removing the significant and substantial designation from two and reducing total penalties from $7,960 to $4,590. Judge Michael G. Young accepted the explanation for one S&S removal but found insufficient factual support for…
Maria T. Walker v. Capurro Trucking
Maria T. Walker v. Capurro Trucking (FMSHRC WEST 2021-0183): Discrimination complaint dismissed on summary decision
Maria Walker filed her own Mine Act discrimination case after MSHA declined to prosecute her complaint against former employer Capurro Trucking. She alleged disparate treatment and challenged the company's reasons for terminating her ore-haul truck driver employment. Judge John T. Sullivan reviewed…
Rolly Marine Service Company
Hydraulic-press citations vacated
A Rolly Marine yard foreman died from blunt-force injuries after a metal bar was ejected from a modified hydraulic press and struck his abdomen. OSHA cited the shipyard under the general duty clause for operating a press altered from its original design and under the machine-guarding standard for…
Quick Roofing LLC
Late contest dismissed and citation affirmed
OSHA issued Quick Roofing one citation containing two serious items and proposed penalties totaling $4,681. The citation was delivered by certified mail to the business address provided during the inspection, but the company filed its notice of contest 83 days late. Quick Roofing argued that it had…
Knock Out Homes Incorporated
Default set aside for Rule 60 hearing
Knock Out Homes timely contested three citations but did not file an answer or respond to a show-cause order and default motion, so the judge entered default and dismissed the contest. Two weeks after that decision became final, the self-represented company submitted a letter describing…
Finley, LLC, and its successors
Two trench items affirmed and four items vacated
OSHA found five Finley workers leaving an excavation with water along most of its length. The judge found that Finley took no precautions in response to the accumulated water and did not perform an adequate competent-person inspection or reassess the soil after conditions changed. Those two serious…
RJCL Corp., d/b/a RNV Construction
Fall and footwear citations affirmed
An OSHA compliance officer observed an RNV Construction employee painting from a ladder placed on an elevated mall overhang without effective fall protection. The employee wore a harness, but the judge credited photographs and the officer's testimony showing that it was not connected to a lanyard…
RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Inc.
Moving-truck fall-hazard citation affirmed
A RoadSafe crew installed raised highway reflectors from a slow-moving three-truck convoy. One employee rode on the edge of the lead truck's bed with his feet on its lowered lift gate and was killed when the following company truck struck the lead vehicle. The Commission found a recognized fall…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.