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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E.F. Houghton & Co.
Withdrawal order reversed for lack of abatement certification
E.F. Houghton moved to withdraw its notice of contest while stating that two contested citation items had not been abated pending a variance request. The company also said it understood that OSHA would not reinspect during that period, but the Secretary denied giving any such assurance. The judge…
Vy Lactos Laboratories, Inc.
Hydrogen-sulfide citation vacated for unproven recognition
Vy Lactos manufactured livestock and poultry feed concentrates using proteinaceous fish solubles. After fish slurry overflowed into a basement, employees entered without self-contained breathing equipment and encountered a lethal atmosphere attributed to hydrogen sulfide gas. Three employees died…
J. Dale Wilson, Builder
Citation vacated after delayed contest transmittal
J. Dale Wilson sent OSHA a letter protesting a citation and proposed $35 penalty, and OSHA received it on October 11, 1972. OSHA did not transmit the notice of contest to the Commission until October 30, beyond the seven-day procedural deadline. The Commission initially reversed an automatic…
Wright-Schuchart-Harbor Contractors
Pit and life-jacket items affirmed
Wright-Schuchart-Harbor was one of many contractors building the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant in Oregon. OSHA observed two of its employees working on a snow- and ice-covered float near river water without life jackets and an unguarded pit about 30 feet deep beside a traveled walkway. The judge…
Dundas Pallet Company, Division of Industrial Wood and Pallet Company
Eye-protection violation affirmed
Dundas Pallet cut lumber and manufactured pallets at an Ohio plant. Employees operating or working near power saws and automatic nailers were not provided with or required to wear protective eyewear. The company stipulated to the violation, and its vice president testified that management had known…
Dreher Pickle Company
Electrical and platform penalties increased to $1,500
Dreher Pickle Company operated wet processing areas with inadequately grounded electrical equipment. Employees had repeatedly received shocks from conveyor belts, management knew of those reports, and one employee died from probable electrical shock while standing in brine water and loading pickles…
Engstrum and Nourse
Serious trench cave-in hazard affirmed
Engstrum and Nourse installed an underground storm drain in San Francisco using a trench ranging from 13 to 16 feet deep. An eight-foot section remained unshored when two employees entered to install protection from the bottom up. Soil and loose material collapsed into the trench, killing one…
Republic Creosoting Co., Division of Reilly Tar & Chemical Corp.
Crosstie unloading and stacking citations vacated
Republic Creosoting operated a railroad-tie marshalling yard in Indiana. A newly hired employee unexpectedly cut the steel band around a package of ties before the forklift was positioned to secure the load, and falling ties fatally injured him. The Commission found that the company's customary…
Baltz Brothers Packing Company
Four violations affirmed with $905 in penalties
Baltz Brothers processed livestock into packaged meat products at a Tennessee plant. The company admitted violations involving ungrounded electrical equipment, cluttered maintenance and storage areas, connected extension cords lying in water, and open electrical control boxes. The judge affirmed…
A. Stuart Bolling Company, Inc.
Late answer accepted and case remanded
The judge denied A. Stuart Bolling Company the right to participate and affirmed the citation and proposed penalty because the company had not filed an answer. The company sent a letter explaining that it had posted the pleadings and misunderstood the answer requirement, while briefly disputing the…
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union, AFL-CIO
Employee contest scope limited
OSHA issued Mobil Oil three serious citations and one citation containing 90 other than serious items. The employer did not contest, but the employees' union challenged the length of the abatement period for one item and asserted that 69 other items described as abated had not actually been…
Gerosa, Inc.
Crane inspection citation vacated
Gerosa assigned a competent operator and oiler to run a rented crane while steel columns were placed at a power plant construction site. OSHA cited the company for allegedly failing to designate a competent person to inspect the crane before and during use. The crane passed customary operational…
Universal Maintenance & Repair Corporation
Mail-conveyor lockout violation affirmed
Universal maintained and repaired more than 200 conveyor belts at a mail-sorting facility. OSHA issued a serious general duty clause citation after an employee lost his right arm while attempting to clear a conveyor that had not been locked out. The judge found that the available locks and shared…
Bill Echols Trucking Company
Citation vacated after delayed contest transmission
OSHA cited Bill Echols Trucking Company for a serious failure to provide reverse signal alarms on vehicles with obstructed views and proposed a $600 penalty. It also issued an other than serious citation with no proposed penalty. The company promptly wrote that it had installed the signaling device…
R. D. Blue Construction, Inc.
Trenching hazard citation affirmed
R. D. Blue Construction was excavating a trench for utility work near a hospital when two employees worked in a section at least eight feet deep. OSHA alleged that the trench had unstable sides, lacked adequate sloping, shoring, sheeting, or bracing, and had excavated material placed too close to…
Wetmore & Parman, Inc.
Open-floor citation affirmed and penalty raised
Wetmore & Parman was constructing a six-story college building when employees worked near an unguarded sixth-floor edge about 60 feet above the ground. OSHA had previously told the company's superintendent how to guard the open floor, but the company did not install adequate protection because it…
Texports Stevedore Company, Inc.
Falling-cargo penalty increased
Texports was unloading two-tier stacks of 4,200-pound pulpwood bales from a barge when one bale fell and disabled a forklift. The company sent a mechanic into the hold without securing the remaining cargo, and another bale fell and severely injured him. The judge found that the first falling bale…
Equity Supply Company
Liquid and extinguisher items vacated
Equity Supply stipulated to several housekeeping, guarding, protective-equipment, compressed-air, and electrical violations at its Montana facility. The remaining dispute concerned alleged storage of combustible liquid in open containers and inspection of fire extinguishers. The Commission vacated…
California Blowpipe and Steel Co., Inc.
Withdrawal approved without liability disclaimer
California Blowpipe sought to withdraw its notice of contest and tendered the full $500 penalty after immediately abating the alleged violation. Its first motion made payment conditional on ending the litigation and disclaimed any responsibility or liability. The Secretary objected to that…
Broadview Construction Co.
Forklift worker-lifting penalty raised to maximum
Broadview used a forklift to lift six employees and 25 long sheets of roofing material to a roof about 24 feet above the ground. The employees had no secured personnel platform or way to shut off the lift, and all six were seriously injured when the forklift toppled at a height of about 26 feet…
Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp.
Withdrawal order amended to affirm citation
Hess Oil sought to withdraw its contest of a serious citation after the cited storage-tank operations ended because the tanks had been destroyed. The company stated that it was in compliance and would remain so, paid the proposed $700 penalty, and posted the withdrawal papers without receiving…
Pleasant Valley Packing Co., Inc.
Citations vacated after contest letter was not forwarded
OSHA issued Pleasant Valley Packing a citation containing 21 nonserious items after inspecting its meat-processing and packaging plant. Two days after receiving the citation and penalty notice, the company wrote to the Area Director that the proposed penalties were unjustified and asked that they…
The Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Company
Unsafe-tool citation vacated for lack of knowledge
A Mountain States employee collapsed and died while using an electric impact wrench that was later found to have unsafe internal wiring and a short circuit. OSHA initially issued a serious electrical-grounding citation with a proposed $600 penalty, then amended it to a nonserious unsafe-tool…
Chicago Bridge & Iron Company
Citation and $800 penalty affirmed after withdrawal
OSHA issued Chicago Bridge & Iron one serious citation and proposed an $800 penalty. The company contested the case, then moved to withdraw its notice of contest after the storage-tank operations ended and the tanks were destroyed. It stated that it was in compliance, paid the $800 penalty, and…
G. & C. Foundry Co.
Default order reversed after employer tried to answer
The Secretary sought a default judgment because G. & C. Foundry had not filed a formal answer to the complaint. The employer responded with letters explaining its attempts to follow Commission procedure and stating its position on the contested items. It also complied with prehearing requirements…
Brent Towing Co., Inc.
Uncontested citation items restored
OSHA cited Brent Towing for 10 non-serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $310. The judge vacated the entire citation after finding that the Secretary had not promptly forwarded the employer's contest letter to the Commission. The Commission later found that items 5 through 9 had never…
Hanovia Lamp Division, Canrad Precision Industries, Inc.
Serious citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Hanovia manufactured lamps and employed an experienced laboratory technician who worked alone while testing high-voltage equipment. The technician created an unsafe arrangement involving exposed energized components and was electrocuted. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause and…
Swift Trucking Company
Log-handling citation and $550 penalty affirmed
OSHA cited Swift Trucking under the general duty clause for removing binders from a load of logs before the loading machine was in place. The company contested the serious citation and proposed $550 penalty, then asked to withdraw its contest. Swift Trucking stated that it had abated the condition…
ESS-BEE Knitwear Company, Inc.
Failure-to-correct penalties affirmed after withdrawal
OSHA notified ESS-BEE Knitwear that it had failed to correct cited violations and proposed $630 in additional penalties. The company filed a timely contest, then asked to withdraw it. ESS-BEE represented that the violations had been abated, tendered the proposed penalty, promised continuing…
Ralph Morse Furniture Co.
Default set aside and withdrawal approved
The judge struck Ralph Morse Furniture's notice of contest because the company had not answered the Secretary's complaint. After that order, the parties jointly submitted a withdrawal motion and supporting stipulation that had not been before the judge. The Commission treated the new joint filing…
John Hicks Oldsmobile, Inc.
Seven citations affirmed with more abatement time
OSHA cited John Hicks Oldsmobile for seven non-serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $155. The company and the Secretary stipulated to withdrawal of the contest, payment of the penalties, and more time to correct item 4. The Secretary also agreed to provide an interpretation of the…
United Sheet Metal Co.
Withdrawal approved for all five citation items
OSHA cited United Sheet Metal for five non-serious violations. The employer first withdrew its penalty contests for items 2 through 5, then sought to withdraw its remaining contest to item 1. The judge found that the company had not yet documented abatement, payment, service, and posting for item…
Stylhomes, Inc.
Seven citations and $104 penalty affirmed
OSHA cited Stylhomes for seven other-than-serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $104. The company contested the case, then moved to withdraw its notice of contest. Stylhomes certified that it had corrected the cited conditions, would maintain abatement and continuing compliance, had…
Atlantic Concrete, Inc.
Mixed ruling on floor opening and crane citations
Atlantic Concrete was cited for an unguarded floor opening and several recordkeeping, posting, first-aid, and crane-related conditions. The parties stipulated that several non-serious items were unsupported, inapplicable, or abandoned. The judge vacated those items, affirmed two crane violations…
Becker Brothers Carbon Co.
Penalties reduced to $280 in withdrawal stipulation
OSHA cited Becker Brothers Carbon for 15 other-than-serious violations and proposed $330 in penalties. The parties stipulated that the company had corrected all cited conditions and would continue to comply. They also agreed to eliminate the $50 penalty for item 14 because the company president…
Otis Elevator Company
Serious and non-serious citations affirmed
OSHA issued Otis Elevator one serious and one non-serious citation with proposed penalties of $500 and $150. The Secretary amended the description of the non-serious violation, then sought another amendment to return the citation to its original wording. Before the hearing, Otis moved to withdraw…
Detroit Printing Pressmen Local No. 13, International Printing Pressmen & Assistants Union of North America, AFL-CIO
Union's noise-abatement extension request dismissed
OSHA cited the Evening News Association for excessive workplace noise and set deadlines for temporary protection and longer-term controls. Neither the employer nor the union contested the citation, so it became final. The union later asked the Commission to extend the abatement period because the…
Chicago Lumber Co., Inc.
Serious citation and $550 penalty affirmed
OSHA issued Chicago Lumber serious and non-serious citations with proposed penalties of $550 and $400. The company contested only the serious citation, so the non-serious citation became final without review. Chicago Lumber later stipulated to withdrawal of its contest, paid the $550 proposed…
D. C. Taylor Roofing Co., Inc.
Serious citation and $500 penalty affirmed
OSHA issued D. C. Taylor Roofing a serious citation and proposed a $500 penalty. The Secretary's complaint listed the wrong worksite address, then the Secretary moved to amend it to restore the correct address from the citation. The company later stipulated to withdrawal of its contest, paid the…
Equipco Contractors, Inc.
Serious citation and $500 penalty affirmed
Equipco Contractors contested a serious citation and proposed $500 penalty, then asked to withdraw before the scheduled hearing. The company stated that it had completed abatement, tendered the penalty, and would continue to comply with the Act. It served the motion on the parties and employee…
Colonial Craft Reproductions, Inc.
Seven items affirmed but all penalties vacated
Colonial Craft, a very small wooden-giftware manufacturer, was cited for nine non-serious violations, with $165 in penalties proposed for spray-area electrical wiring, exit signs, machine belts, and radial saws. The Commission agreed that the penalized conditions were not minor and ordinarily would…
Hydroswift Corporation
$120 penalty affirmed for four higher-gravity items
Hydroswift, a fiberglass-boat manufacturer, did not dispute 12 non-serious violations and contested only four $30 penalties. The penalized items involved missing stair and open-floor railings, improper storage of flammable liquids, combustible residue in spray areas and on sprinkler protection, and…
Banner Engineering Corporation
Nine items affirmed and $30 penalty vacated
OSHA cited Banner Engineering for nine non-serious violations and proposed a $30 penalty for item 1. The company did not dispute the violations and reported that it had corrected all items, but it challenged the penalty because it had little time to correct the conditions before inspection. The…
Anderson Excavating & Wrecking Co., Inc.
Three items and $335 affirmed
OSHA cited Anderson Excavating & Wrecking for three other-than-serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $335. The company and the Secretary stipulated to withdrawal of the contest. Anderson paid the proposed penalties, stated that it had corrected the conditions and would maintain…
Singleton Sheet Metal Works, Inc.
Contest reinstated for timeliness hearing
A judge first vacated Singleton Sheet Metal's citation because the Secretary allegedly forwarded the contest too late, then reversed himself and dismissed the employer's contest as late. The Commission held that the judge lacked jurisdiction to reconsider his first dispositive order after…
Singleton Sheet Metal Works, Inc.
Contest reinstated for timeliness hearing
Singleton Sheet Metal Works contested a no-serious citation carrying a $25 penalty. The judge first vacated the citation because the Secretary allegedly forwarded the contest too late, then reconsidered and dismissed the contest as untimely. The Commission held that the judge lacked jurisdiction to…
E. A. Roos & Company
Withdrawal order corrected to include all contested items
E. A. Roos contested citation items 1 through 5, 7, and 8, then stipulated that the violations existed and had been abated. The parties agreed that no penalty should be assessed for item 7's ungrounded electric hand tool and that $260 was reasonable for the remaining violations. The judge approved…
Arnold Hansen, dba Hansen Brothers Logging
Loader-swing citation vacated
Hansen Brothers Logging used a rotating log loader whose counterweight created a hazardous swing area near a truck trailer. An employee entered that area during loading and was fatally injured. OSHA cited the employer under the general duty clause and proposed a $500 penalty. The Commission found…
Cook Ford Sales, Inc.
Contest dismissed after abatement certifications were not filed
OSHA cited Cook Ford Sales for nine non-serious violations and initially proposed $165 in penalties. The Secretary's complaint removed two items and their two $25 penalties, leaving $140. The company sent a $140 check and asked to end the case, but it did not respond to repeated requests to certify…
Waldinger Corporation
Citation vacated for insufficient evidence
OSHA issued Waldinger an other-than-serious citation and later amended the abatement date and proposed penalty notice. An earlier order had dismissed the company's contest for failure to certify service, but the case was reinstated. The Secretary then moved to dismiss the complaint and citation…
Constructora Metalica, Inc.
Crane citation vacated after denial of a fair hearing
A crane collapsed during dismantling at Constructora Metalica's apartment project, killing one employee and seriously injuring another. OSHA issued a serious general duty clause citation and proposed a $750 penalty. The Commission found that the parties had received notice only of a prehearing…
Spencer Foods, Inc.
Two items vacated and all penalties eliminated
OSHA cited Spencer Foods for multiple non-serious conditions at its meat-processing plant, including access, ladder, guarding, fire-safety, vehicle, and protective-equipment issues. The judge found that the Secretary had not proved that a fixed ladder was covered by the cited portable-ladder rule…
Mayaguez Shoe Corp.
Pro se response accepted and default reversed
OSHA issued Mayaguez Shoe one serious and one non-serious citation with proposed penalties totaling $780. Acting without counsel, the company timely contested and later wrote to the Secretary about posting, prompt abatement, good faith, and its need for procedural help. The judge dismissed the…
Mayaguez Shoe Corp.
Pro se contest reinstated and remanded
Mayaguez Shoe received one serious and one other than serious citation with proposed penalties totaling $780. The company filed a timely contest without counsel and later wrote to the Secretary about posting, procedural assistance, prompt abatement, and good faith. The judge dismissed the contest…
National Realty & Construction Company, Inc.
Passenger-riding citation affirmed with reduced penalty
A foreman rode on the step of a front-end loader that was towing equipment down a dirt ramp. The loader stalled and overturned, fatally injuring the foreman after he left the step. OSHA cited National Realty under the general duty clause and proposed an $800 penalty for allowing passenger riding on…
Columbus Forge & Iron Company
Noise-abatement plan deadline extended
Columbus Forge & Iron contested a citation under OSHA's occupational-noise standard. The parties agreed that the company needed more time to prepare engineering and administrative control studies. They extended the deadline for a proposed compliance plan from August 9 to September 1, 1972, while…
Chrysler Corporation
Contested item vacated and remaining citation affirmed
OSHA issued Chrysler a citation and amended citation containing several non-serious items. Chrysler contested only item 6 and its proposed $30 penalty, so the complaint and answer addressed only that item. After reviewing the evidence, the Secretary moved to amend again and dismiss the complaint…
Spildie Construction Company
Abatement certification required to complete withdrawal
OSHA cited Spildie Construction for 20 non-serious violations and proposed $445 in penalties for 12 items. The company contested only the penalties, then moved to withdraw and tendered the full amount. The Commission found that the withdrawal papers did not certify correction of the cited…
Trailmobile Division of Pullman, Inc.
No-penalty item affirmed after withdrawal
OSHA cited Trailmobile's steel-fabricating plant for 13 violations. The company contested only item 7, so the other 12 items and their combined $425 penalties became final without review. The parties later stipulated that item 7 had been corrected, continuing compliance would be maintained, and the…
John H. Boyson, dba Boyson Construction Co.
Withdrawal conditioned on employee service
Boyson Construction moved to withdraw its contest after correcting the cited condition, tendering the $200 proposed penalty, and promising continuing compliance. The judge approved withdrawal even though the motion did not show that affected employees or their representative had received it. The…
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.