Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Matter of Farmer
Return from involuntary absence was not a new entry
An Italian citizen who held permanent residence traveled to Italy after her husband bought a one-way ticket and placed her on a plane. She had experienced psychological difficulties that impaired her capacity to choose the trip. On her return, an immigration judge ordered her excluded under mental…
United States Steel International, Ltd.
Amended citation accepted and contest withdrawn
A judge dismissed the citation because it had been issued 52 calendar days after inspection. Immediately before the dismissal order arrived, however, the parties had resolved the case. The Secretary amended the complaint to allege a violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1926.50(c) with a $155 penalty, and…
Matter of Park
Planned military service did not waive labor certification
A Korean citizen conceded that he had stayed beyond his authorized period and sought adjustment to permanent resident status. He had qualified for induction into the United States Army but was not a member of the Armed Forces. The Board held that the labor certification exemption for military…
Robert J. Lzicar
Floor, saw, and electrical violations affirmed
Robert J. Lzicar performed carpentry, steel framing, and concrete work at a large construction project. Employees worked near the unguarded edge of a partially completed second floor 22 feet above the surface below, and two saws lacked required blade guards. The judge affirmed those three serious…
Johnson Brothers Sawmill
Late abatement extension granted for good cause
Johnson Brothers Sawmill received 18 citation items and sought more time to complete sanitation and electrical work after correcting the other 13. The employer had borrowed $6,500 through the Small Business Administration for abatement and showed that weather, plumber availability, and delayed…
Verne-Woodrow Company
Citation affirmed after court remand
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit remanded this matter to the Commission. Following the court's order, the Commission affirmed the Secretary's citation and proposed penalty. This brief release does not identify the cited standard, the underlying workplace facts, or the…
Cadillac Malleable Iron Company
Carbon-monoxide penalty reduced to $200
Cadillac Malleable Iron produced iron goods at a plant where a weight-shifting employee was exposed to carbon monoxide above 150 parts per million for more than an hour. The judge found the violation serious because the exposure could impair vision and coordination, increase accident risk, and…
Frohlick Crane Service
Leased-crane violation and citation items affirmed
Frohlick Crane Service leased a crane and operator to an elevator subcontractor at a construction site. The crane contacted an uninsulated 7,620-volt power line, and a laborer employed by another company was electrocuted. The Commission held that the operator remained Frohlick's employee because…
Matter of Dela Rosa
Legitimation did not establish legal custody
A United States citizen sought immediate-relative status for his daughter, who was born in Panama outside marriage. His declaration of paternity had legitimated her under Panamanian law. The Board held that the immigration statute also required the daughter to have been in his legal custody at the…
St. Mary's Cotton Mill, Division of Leshner Corporation
Nineteen plant violations affirmed
St. Mary's Cotton Mill admitted 19 nonserious conditions involving compressed air, machine guards, fire extinguishers, electrical grounding, exits, floor openings, storage, housekeeping, and other plant equipment. OSHA proposed penalties on ten of the items, totaling $375, and no penalties on the…
Matter of Neuschul
Residence in Chile barred alternate visa chargeability
A lawful permanent resident sought a visa preference classification for his unmarried son, who was born in Chile. The father argued that his flight from Nazi persecution and intention to move to the United States meant he had no residence in Chile when his son was born. The Board applied the…
Matter of Ferreira
Separation decree did not end the first marriage
A lawful permanent resident sought a spouse visa preference for a woman he married in New York in 1970. He had previously entered a Catholic marriage in Portugal and submitted a Portuguese decree separating the spouses and their property. The Board found that the decree did not dissolve the earlier…
Matter of Chang
Board reverses approval of adopted son visa petition
A lawful permanent resident sought preference classification for a person he said he had adopted as a son in Burma in 1950. The district director approved the petition, but certified it to the Board for review. The Board held that Burmese Buddhist law governed the claimed adoption and distinguished…
Langer Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc.
Flat-roof perimeter violation affirmed
Langer Roofing employees worked near the unguarded edge of a flat roof about 20 feet above the ground. The Commission held that the open-sided-floor standard applies to flat roofs and affirmed the violation. A low parapet provided some protection, so the violation's gravity was low to moderate, and…
Fort Hill Lumber Company
Three failure-to-abate items affirmed
Fort Hill Lumber received a failure-to-abate notice covering nine earlier sawmill violations with more than $16,000 in proposed additional penalties, plus a new lumber-carrier brake citation. On review, the Secretary withdrew five items for lack of proof, and the Commission also left other…
Vy Lactos Laboratories, Inc.
Withdrawal leaves citation and penalty affirmed
Vy Lactos used proteinaceous fish solubles in its manufacturing process, and the case concerned a recognized hazard from hydrogen sulfide accumulation. The Eighth Circuit remanded because the record did not conclusively establish whether the company had actual knowledge of the hazard. On remand, Vy…
Nibco of Colorado Division, Nibco, Inc.
Three nonserious items affirmed with $35 penalty
Nibco manufactured plumbing fittings and contested several nonserious items involving cranes, electrical wiring, machinery, welding equipment, and personal protective equipment. The Commission vacated the rope-sling item because the cited rule required inspection and a hazard determination, and the…
W. B. Meredith II, Inc.
One contested item affirmed and others vacated
W. B. Meredith II was a general construction contractor building a five-story reinforced concrete building. OSHA issued three serious and fourteen non-serious citation items with $1,750 in proposed penalties. The Commission upheld the judge's vacatur of the contested electrical-box, guardrail…
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.
Safety-belt citation vacated for lack of proof
Chicago Bridge & Iron erected steel plate structures and was installing a water tank when an employee fell from an elevation. OSHA cited the company under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.28(a) for allegedly exposing an employee to a fall without appropriate personal protective equipment. The judge found a…
Southern Contractors Service
Citation and penalty affirmed on remand
The Fifth Circuit remanded this matter to the Commission. Acting in accordance with the court's order, the Commission affirmed the Secretary's citation and proposed penalty. The brief release does not identify the cited standard, the underlying conditions, or the penalty amount.
Stokes Construction Co.
Trenching case remanded for a merits decision
OSHA cited Stokes Construction for three non-serious trenching and shoring violations under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.652 and proposed $360 in penalties. The inspection followed a trench accident in which two employees were injured and one apparently died. The judge vacated the citation because it was…
Matter of Lepofsky
Immigration judge could not grant a month of parole
A Canadian husband and wife had been paroled into the United States and wanted to remain while the husband operated a business. An immigration judge found them excludable because they lacked immigrant visas but allowed them a month to withdraw their applications and depart. The Board agreed that…
Stack Construction Co.
$650 general-duty penalty affirmed
Stack Construction was installing a drainage culvert and concrete storm-sewer pipe. The judge found recognized hazards from an unguarded haul road beside an excavation and from moving a one-ton pipe section over employees in a trench. An employee operating a front-end loader had died after the…
Matter of Valiyee
Husband's resident status rescinded after wife's status was voided
An Iranian national received permanent resident status in 1962 based on his wife's status as a permanent resident. Her status was later rescinded, leaving him without the spousal preference that had made an immigrant visa available when his own status was adjusted. The immigration judge rescinded…
Matter of Rodriguez
Shotgun conviction supports deportation order
An immigration judge found a Cuban permanent resident deportable after a federal conviction for possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun. The man argued that the gun belonged to his employer, that his nolo contendere plea did not count as a final conviction, and that the criminal court had not…
Matter of Miraldo
Brazilian legal separation does not qualify son as unmarried
A permanent resident petitioned for preference classification for her son as an unmarried son. He had obtained an amicable divorce in Brazil. The district director found that the Brazilian document created a legal separation and denied the petition. The Board agreed that under the Brazilian law…
Joseph Bucheit and Sons Co. & A.P. O'Horo Co., Inc.
Gas-line excavation citations vacated
Joseph Bucheit and Sons was a bridge subcontractor, and A.P. O'Horo was the general contractor on a highway project. A bulldozer ruptured an underground gas line during abutment excavation, causing an explosion that killed two workers and injured others. The judge held that 29 C.F.R. § 1926.651(a)…
R. H. Bishop Co.
Unguarded-light and grinder penalties assessed
R. H. Bishop was the heating and plumbing subcontractor on a dormitory project at Chanute Air Force Base. The Commission affirmed an unguarded-temporary-light violation because Bishop's employees were exposed, even though another contractor installed and controlled the lighting. It also affirmed an…
Accu-Namics, Inc.
Serious trench-protection violation affirmed
Accu-Namics installed underground water and sewer pipe in a trench that reached 24 feet deep. Its trench shield extended only 14 feet below ground, leaving about 10 feet of trench wall unprotected, and a cave-in killed four employees. The judge vacated the citation because the compliance officer…
Mallory Electric Company
Cases remanded and consolidated
A judge had vacated the Secretary's citation and proposed penalty because no complaint was filed within the time required by Commission Rule 33(a)(1). The Commission then remanded the matter and consolidated OSHRC Docket Nos. 6349 and 6396. The brief release does not identify the cited safety…
California Stevedore & Ballast Co.
Unguarded-winch citation affirmed
California Stevedore employees were discharging cargo aboard the S.S. Hastings using ship-owned steam winches with partially unguarded drive wheels. The Commission held that Coast Guard regulations did not displace OSHA jurisdiction over longshoremen's working conditions. It also rejected the…
Automotive Products Corp.
Fourteen non-serious items affirmed
Automotive Products manufactured universal joints, drive shafts, and other metal products. OSHA cited sixteen non-serious conditions involving machinery, facilities, posting, and injury records. The judge affirmed fourteen items and their proposed penalties, totaling $330, but dismissed the…
F. H. Von Damm, Inc.
Three non-serious items and $35 penalty affirmed
F. H. Von Damm was a small wholesaler of animal feed, seeds, and agricultural supplies. The judge affirmed violations for failing to post the OSHA notice, failing to inspect two fire extinguishers annually, and lacking a maintenance tag on another extinguisher. He assessed $35 for the…
General Electric Company
Abatement petition reinstated and remanded
General Electric petitioned to modify an abatement deadline after thirteen non-serious citation items had become final orders. The judge dismissed the petition on the ground that the Commission lacked jurisdiction. The Commission reversed, holding that its rules and precedent authorize it to decide…
Matter of Idels
Innocent visa misstatement prevents deportation
A woman entered the United States as the unmarried daughter of a lawful permanent resident. Her father's own admission was later found invalid, and an immigration judge ordered her deported. The Board agreed that her visa had depended on a status her father did not have, but found that she had made…
Allan Electric Co., Inc.
Non-serious settlement and $300 penalty affirmed
OSHA cited Allan Electric under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.400(c)(1) as a serious violation and proposed a $600 penalty. In settlement, the Secretary reclassified the item as non-serious and reduced the penalty to $300, and the employer withdrew its contest after stating that the violation was abated…
Cape & Vineyard Div., New Bedford Gas & Edison Light Co.
Electrical PPE violation affirmed
Cape & Vineyard was an electric utility whose line crew was installing transformers on a utility pole. A lineman was electrocuted after contacting an uncovered energized 2,400-volt wire or clamp while also contacting a grounded transformer. The judge found that the foreman knew the conductor was…
Smoke-Craft, Inc.
Sausage-cutting PPE citation vacated
Smoke-Craft manufactured beef jerky and sausage and used a hand-held reciprocating saw to cut long sausages. An employee held the sausage with a bare hand about one to one-and-a-half inches from the blade during end cuts. The Commission acknowledged a cutting hazard but vacated the…
Hawkins Construction Co.
Excavation citation vacated for lack of employee exposure
Hawkins Construction was the general contractor on an industrial-park project and had excavated an area for sewer work. The excavation was not properly sloped and excavated material was stored too close to its edge, but only a subcontractor's employees were present when OSHA inspected. The…
Delmas H. Smith
Employee abatement-date contest dismissed after withdrawal
An amended non-serious citation alleged that employees were exposed to hydrogen chloride above the ceiling limit in a furnace building. OSHA proposed no penalty and required a long-term abatement plan, with engineering or administrative controls to be completed by June 4, 1974. Employee contestant…
Matter of Lau
Tailor's labor precertification warrants another look at adjustment
A married couple from China conceded that they had stayed longer than their visas permitted. Their adjustment applications depended on whether the husband qualified for a labor certification and whether an immigrant visa was available. The Board agreed that he had not proved his separate claim to…
W. C. Sivers Co.
Floor-hole citation conditionally affirmed without penalty
W. C. Sivers had uncovered pipe-sleeve holes ranging from four to twelve inches in a building under construction while workers installed pipe from below. After remand, the judge relied on an informal conference and stated that the employer conceded a person could accidentally step into a…
Lipsky & Rosenthal, Inc.
Sixth-floor guardrail item reduced to non-serious
Lipsky & Rosenthal was a plumbing subcontractor on an apartment construction project. Three employees hauled plumbing materials while standing at the unguarded edge of a sixth floor. The Secretary charged that condition as non-serious, but the judge classified it as serious and assessed $250. The…
Bettendorf Terminal Co. & Le Claire Quarries, Inc.
OSHA jurisdiction and $370 affirmed
Le Claire Quarries employees unloaded, dewatered, stored, and sold river sand at property owned by Bettendorf Terminal. The companies argued that the Federal Metal and Non-Metallic Mine Safety Act displaced OSHA jurisdiction. The Commission rejected that defense because the terminal was ten miles…
Humphreys & Harding, Inc.
Serious fall-hazard citations vacated for lack of exposure
Humphreys & Harding managed construction of a seventeen-story building and had contract responsibility for guardrails and debris removal. OSHA cited unguarded floor perimeters, material-hoist entrances, and elevator shafts as serious violations. The Commission affirmed vacatur because the Secretary…
Southeast Contractors, Inc.
Serious backing-truck violation affirmed
Southeast Contractors was a paving subcontractor that hired a trucking company to deliver hot asphalt. A dump trailer with an obstructed rear view continued backing after an observer stopped signaling and fatally struck a Southeast employee. The Commission held that an ordinary air horn was not a…
Matter of Oria
Board cannot revalidate a third preference visa petition
A married couple from the Philippines conceded that they had overstayed their visitor visas. The wife sought adjustment of status based on a third preference visa petition whose approval had expired. She argued that an unexplained delay in processing her labor certification deprived her of a chance…
Matter of M/S Valiant Trader
Carrier fine withdrawn after injured crewman rejoined ship
An alien crewman on the M/S Valiant Trader was injured after the ship left San Francisco. He was taken to a hospital, stayed on the ship's payroll and crew list, and flew to Japan after his release to rejoin the vessel. The district director fined the carrier $1,000, later reduced to $500, for…
Gindy Manufacturing Co.
Abatement petition reinstated and remanded
Gindy Manufacturing filed a petition to modify an abatement requirement after an uncontested citation became a final order. The judge dismissed the petition on the ground that only the Secretary of Labor could decide it and denied an employee representative's intervention request as moot. The…
New Haven Foundry
Abatement petition reinstated and remanded
New Haven Foundry filed a petition to modify an abatement requirement after a citation became a final order. The judge dismissed the petition on the ground that the Commission lacked jurisdiction over employer abatement-modification petitions. The Commission reversed under its rules and precedent…
Continental Steel Corporation
Abatement petition reinstated and remanded
Continental Steel filed a petition to modify an abatement requirement after a citation had become a final order. The underlying cited item concerned exposed live electrical parts on two cranes under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.179(g)(2)(i). The judge dismissed the petition on the ground that the Commission…
Transcon Lines, Inc.
Maintenance-pit and excessive-noise violations affirmed
Transcon Lines operated truck-maintenance facilities with six vehicle pits that were periodically left uncovered and had no guardrails. Employees in a fuel-tank repair area were also exposed for an hour a day to noise measured at 124 and 128 decibels. The company supplied hearing protection but…
Angel Construction Co., Inc.
Stairway penalty restored in mixed construction case
Angel Construction was the prime contractor for a multi-building office complex. The judge affirmed eight non-serious violations involving housekeeping, ladders, fuel handling, stairways, elevator openings, a material hoist, and head protection, while dismissing two scaffold and…
Sigman Meat Co.
Stair and sanitation items restored under OSHA jurisdiction
Sigman Meat operated a pork slaughterhouse and contested multiple non-serious safety and health items. The judge affirmed four of nine disputed items, vacated five, and assessed $117. The Commission held that Department of Agriculture meat-inspection rules did not displace OSHA jurisdiction over…
Newspaper Agency Corp.
Withdrawal affirmed after workplace posting
Newspaper Agency contested an amended citation and proposed penalty, then moved to withdraw its contest. The employer had previously notified two unions about the case and posted the withdrawal request at the workplace. Neither union had elected party status. The Commission held that workplace…
Biltrite Fixture Co., Inc.
Failure-to-abate penalty set at $750
Biltrite manufactured store fixtures and failed to abate six non-serious electrical, welding, fire-extinguisher, and housekeeping violations by the stated deadline. OSHA proposed $2,465 in additional daily penalties, and the company corrected the remaining conditions the day after reinspection. The…
Hoffman Electric Co.
Floor-opening and perimeter citations affirmed
Hoffman Electric performed electrical construction in buildings with unguarded floor openings and open-sided floors. Its employees used elevator-shaft ladderways and worked where materials were moved along the outside of the building. The judge held that the subcontractor remained responsible for…
Plastering, Inc.
Serious roof-opening violation and $650 affirmed
Plastering employees installed draft stops beneath a convention-center roof about sixty feet above the floor. Four employees worked on the roof and stepped over an unguarded opening created by removal of a large steel deck plate, and the company knew the openings existed. Another worker who was not…
Matter of Kukla
Refugee adjustment denied but another adjustment granted
A Czechoslovak scientist sought permanent resident status as a refugee after entering the United States as an exchange visitor. During the required two years of continuous physical presence, he made three trips to Canada and one to Barbados. The Regional Commissioner held that the Barbados trip…
Matter of To
Petition sent back for notice of a new decision
A permanent resident filed a visa petition for a man she identified as her adopted son. The District Director denied it because the evidence of adoption was insufficient. After an earlier Board remand, the District Director gathered sworn statements but sent the record back without issuing and…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- 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 public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.