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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Secretary of Labor v. Nevada Gold Mines, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Nevada Gold Mines, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0512-M, WEST 2019-0513-M): Reopening motions withdrawn
Nevada Gold Mines had filed motions asking the Commission to reopen two final penalty assessments. The company later told the Commission that it no longer wished to pursue those requests. The Commission granted both withdrawal motions and dismissed the consolidated matter. The short release does…
Wayne Farms, LLC
Machine-guarding citation vacated because the reach-in was not predictable
An operator at Wayne Farms' poultry processing facility sustained serious arm and hand injuries after lifting a breading machine's grate and reaching about 24 inches into its hopper while internal paddles were operating. OSHA cited the company under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.212(a)(1) and proposed an…
Keenan, Hopkins, Suder and Stowell Contractors, Inc., dba KHS&S Contractors
Case dismissed after full settlement
KHS&S Contractors was cited after an employee fell through a covered opening while performing framing and drywall work at a construction site. The citations alleged inadequate jobsite inspections, scaffold and aerial-lift training, and fall-hazard training under three construction standards. An…
Aerospace Testing Alliance
Guarding citation vacated because circumvention was not predictable
An experienced Aerospace Testing Alliance sheet-metal worker crushed the tip of a finger after removing a glove and intentionally placing the finger beneath a guarded hold-down piston on a power shear. OSHA cited the company under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.212(a)(1) and proposed a $6,300 penalty, which the…
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Knight Hawk Coal, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0087 R): Stay of ventilation-plan ruling denied
The Secretary asked the Commission to stay its earlier ruling that vacated MSHA's revocation of Knight Hawk Coal's long-approved ventilation plan for perimeter mining. The majority found no supported scenario showing irreparable harm from continued use of the plan, which had operated for 12 years…
Secretary of Labor v. Hopedale Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Hopedale Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0149): Four-citation ventilation settlement approved
MSHA cited four significant-and-substantial failures to follow Hopedale Mining's ventilation plan, including inadequate airflow, a misplaced curtain, plugged water sprays, and insufficient roof-bolter vacuum. The parties proposed reducing the total penalties from $18,093 to $3,339 after lowering…
Secretary of Labor v. American Aggregates of Michigan, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. American Aggregates of Michigan, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2018-0340): New-miner training settlement approved
MSHA issued a withdrawal order after a driller's helper had not completed every topic required during the first four hours of new-miner training. The parties agreed to keep the violation but remove the significant-and-substantial designation, reduce negligence and gravity, and lower the proposed…
Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company
Secretary of Labor v. The Doe Run Company (FMSHRC CENT 2015-0318 RM, et al.): Fatal roof-fall citations vacated
A roof fall at Doe Run's underground Missouri metal mine crushed a scaling machine and killed its operator. MSHA cited Doe Run for inadequate ground support and for scaling from a location exposed to falling material. The Commission majority held that the broadly worded standards required the…
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0509, WEVA 2015-0632): Unwarrantable-failure settlement approved
The Commission had granted review of findings involving combustible belt-line accumulations and a related preshift-examination violation at Monongalia County Coal's underground mine. The parties settled by reinstating unwarrantable-failure designations on both orders while the Secretary abandoned…
Nguyens Goal, Inc.
Business held responsible as employer for four safety violations
Nguyens Goal owned properties and was remodeling an apartment when a worker fell more than eight feet from an attic while installing insulation without fall protection. The worker sustained a serious injury and was hospitalized, but the company did not report the hospitalization to OSHA. The…
Timberline Hardwood Floors LLC
Most violations affirmed with $166,265 in penalties
Timberline manufactured hardwood flooring with woodworking machinery at the same facility used by a predecessor company under the same manager. OSHA cited extensive deficiencies involving hearing conservation, hazard communication, exits, fire-extinguisher training, machine guarding, compressed…
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. M-Class Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2018-0188 R): Unsupported accident order vacated
MSHA issued a section 103(k) control order after receiving a doctor's report that a miner had suffered carbon-monoxide poisoning underground. The inspector found no elevated carbon monoxide, no affected coworkers, and no mine condition or equipment source connected to the miner's symptoms. The…
Secretary of Labor v. James C. Scott and Donnie B. Thomas, employed by Mill Branch Coal Corp.
Secretary of Labor v. James C. Scott and Donnie B. Thomas (FMSHRC VA 2018-0103, VA 2018-0104): Delayed agent-penalty cases remanded
MSHA sought individual penalties against a mine superintendent and shift foreman for allegedly failing to report a dangerous water inundation within 15 minutes. The agency proposed penalties of $4,000 and $3,500 about three years after the event, but only eight days after its special investigations…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0450): Refuge-chamber penalty reduced on remand
Peabody Midwest violated its emergency response plan by placing one refuge chamber in the direct line of sight of the working face. On review of an earlier ALJ ruling, the Commission removed the significant-and-substantial designation because more than 15 miners were present only during shift…
Reyes Construction, Inc.
Four trench-protection violations affirmed
Reyes Construction excavated around a leaking water pipe in an eight-foot-deep trench with vertical walls and Type B or C soil. One trench box had an open end next to a vertical soil wall and large gaps that allowed hazardous movement, while another lacked protection along the bottom four and…
Secretary of Labor v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. KenAmerican Resources, Inc. (FMSHRC KENT 2013-0211): Advance-notice penalty assessed
During an MSHA complaint inspection, an underground miner asked a dispatcher whether “company” was outside, and the dispatcher confirmed that inspectors were present. The Commission had already held on review that this exchange violated the Mine Act's ban on advance notice and remanded only for a…
Secretary of Labor obo William R. Whitmore v. Yager Materials Corp.
Secretary of Labor obo William R. Whitmore v. Yager Materials Corp. (FMSHRC KENT 2020-0116 DM, KENT 2020-0117 DM): Safety manager temporarily reinstated
William Whitmore, Yager Materials' maintenance manager, alleged that he reported training problems, COVID-19 protocol concerns, a haul-truck near miss, and equipment safety defects. Yager suspended and fired him soon afterward, stating that he made inappropriate comments about extending a new…
Theodore Oesau v. Rogers Group, Inc.
Theodore Oesau v. Rogers Group, Inc. (FMSHRC CENT 2019-0276 DM): Harassment finding defeated retaliation claim
Theodore Oesau alleged that Rogers Group fired him after he raised numerous equipment and workplace safety concerns at its Arkansas quarry. Judge David Simonton found that the complaints were protected and that management knowledge, possible hostility, and close timing supported an initial…
Aluminum Shapes, LLC
Nonfinal judge decision remanded for further proceedings
The Commission had previously remanded cross-motions for summary judgment involving Aluminum Shapes' equitable-estoppel defenses. The judge then issued a remand decision that left factual disputes for hearing and denied the parties' relevant summary-judgment requests. Because that decision did not…
Randall Mechanical, Inc.
Late-contest case remanded for an excusable-neglect hearing
OSHA issued Randall Mechanical a serious citation under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.350(a)(10), but the company filed its notice of contest after the statutory deadline. After an earlier appeal, the judge dismissed the case on the ground that the Commission lacked jurisdiction to grant relief from the final…
U.S. Postal Service
Injury-reporting retaliation case remanded for credibility findings
OSHA cited the U.S. Postal Service under 29 C.F.R. § 1904.35(b)(1)(iv) for allegedly retaliating against two mail carriers who reported work-related injuries. USPS issued each carrier a seven-day working suspension, later rescinded, and OSHA proposed a $5,432 penalty. The judge vacated the citation…
Angel Brothers Enterprises, Ltd.
Willful cave-in protection violation affirmed
Angel Brothers installed drainage pipe in Type C soil and initially protected workers by benching the excavation walls. A safety manager told the foreman that a trench box would be required the next day because the work was approaching an intersection. The foreman knowingly allowed an employee to…
The Lane Construction Corp.
Pile-driving citation vacated for lack of feasible abatement proof
A Lane Construction employee was fatally struck by a 90-pound pile cushion that was ejected during a bridge pile-driving dry run. OSHA cited the general duty clause for exposing employees to struck-by hazards near the hammer and proposed a $6,300 penalty. The Secretary proposed keeping workers at…
Clean Fuels of Indiana, Inc.
General-industry items vacated because tank cleaning was construction work
Clean Fuels prepared newly installed underground tanks for a gas station that was still under construction. During the work, an employee was found unresponsive in a turbine-pump well and later died from gasoline inhalation. OSHA cited manhole, respiratory-protection, and permit-required…
Tutor Perini Building Corp.
Scaffold guardrail citation vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Tutor Perini was the general contractor for a casino expansion where OSHA found guardrails missing from two upper scaffold platforms. The condition was unrelated to the fatal roof fall that prompted the inspection. OSHA cited Tutor Perini as the controlling employer under 29 C.F.R. §…
Angelica Textile Services, Inc.
Case dismissed as moot after bankruptcy
Angelica Textile Services filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while the case was pending before the Commission. The Secretary did not file a proof of claim before the deadline for government claims, and the company did not appear through counsel on appeal. The Second Circuit therefore dismissed the…
Secretary of Labor obo William R. Whitmore v. Yager Materials Corp.
Secretary of Labor obo William R. Whitmore v. Yager Materials Corp. (FMSHRC KENT 2020-0116 DM, KENT 2020-0117 DM): Limited prehearing disclosure ordered
Before William Whitmore's temporary-reinstatement hearing, Yager Materials sought interview statements, management-witness materials, hearing exhibits, and documents used by MSHA's investigator. Judge William Moran held that fairness required the Secretary to provide Whitmore's own interview…
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (Corrected)
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0144 DM): Corrected reinstatement-tolling decision
This corrected release addresses James McGaughran's economic temporary reinstatement while his discrimination case against Lehigh Cement proceeded. When COVID-19 delayed the scheduled merits hearing, the Judge suspended Lehigh's payment obligation. The Commission held that a procedural delay beyond…
Secretary of Labor obo James McGoughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo James McGoughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0144 DM): Pandemic delay did not toll reinstatement
Lehigh Cement and James McGoughran had agreed to economic temporary reinstatement while his discrimination case proceeded. When COVID-19 delayed the scheduled merits hearing and the Secretary declined a video hearing, the Judge suspended Lehigh's payment obligation. The Commission held that a…
Kiewit Power Constructors Co.
Quick-drenching citation remanded for a decision on the merits
OSHA cited Kiewit Power Constructors under the construction quick-drenching provision, 29 C.F.R. § 1926.50(g). An administrative law judge and then the Commission vacated the citation after concluding that the provision had not been validly promulgated for construction work. The D.C. Circuit…
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor obo James McGaughran v. Lehigh Cement Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2020-0015 DM): Incentive-payment enforcement denied
The Secretary asked the Judge to enforce James McGaughran's economic-reinstatement order by requiring Lehigh Cement to pay another $12,000 under its annual incentive plan. The request was filed in the discrimination merits docket rather than the separate temporary-reinstatement docket. The…
DeNucci Constructors, LLC
Cave-in protection violation affirmed after training item withdrawn
Two DeNucci Constructors employees entered an eight-to-nine-foot-deep trench to hand dig around existing pipes. The Type B soil trench had vertical side walls, inadequate partial benching at one end, no benching at the other, and no trench box. The superintendent and foreman saw the employees…
Secretary of Labor v. Canyon Fuel Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Canyon Fuel Company, LLC (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0380-R, WEST 2020-0014): Related contest and assessment reopened
Canyon Fuel intended to contest a citation, a related order, and the resulting penalty assessment. It timely contested the citation but mistakenly mailed the penalty contest with its partial payment to MSHA's St. Louis payment office instead of the Arlington contest office. An ALJ dismissed the…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co., LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Co., LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0019): Unlocated gas-well citation vacated
Consol's Enlow Fork longwall intersected an old gas-well borehole that the company and its contractor had been unable to locate from the surface. Their search included maps and databases, aerial photographs, a closely spaced metal-detector grid, and hand excavation, and the cut-through produced no…
Secretary of Labor v. Gorham Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Gorham Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2020-0027, YORK 2020-0031): Defective summary request rejected
The parties wanted two quarterly-reporting citation cases decided without a hearing. Judge William Moran repeatedly instructed them to file a summary-decision motion containing supported material facts and legal authority as required by the procedural rule. The Labor Department attorney instead…
Secretary of Labor v. Gorham Sand & Gravel, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Gorham Sand & Gravel, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2020-0027, YORK 2020-0031): Proper summary motion required
The parties asked to resolve two citation cases through the summary-decision process instead of a live hearing. Their submission did not state supported undisputed facts, identify legal grounds for judgment, or otherwise satisfy the governing procedural rule. It also followed a missed deadline and…
JW Powerline, LLC
Four electrical safety violations affirmed after fatal line repair
A JW Powerline crew responded at night to restore power at a rural drilling site after a thunderstorm. The crew foreman misidentified a utility-owned line as the customer's line and began a splice without an adequate job briefing, proper isolation and tagging, or grounding. The utility restored…
Outfront Media, Inc.
Three billboard fall-protection items vacated
An OSHA compliance officer observed four Outfront Media employees working more than four feet above ground on a billboard without fall protection. OSHA cited fall protection, fall-hazard training, and workplace hazard-assessment requirements, with a proposed grouped penalty of $12,675. The judge…
Dade Builders Contractors, Inc.
Inspection and fall-protection citations vacated for insufficient proof
Dade Builders subcontracted a masonry crew that worked near an unprotected edge about 16 feet above ground. OSHA cited Dade as a controlling employer for inadequate jobsite inspections and lack of fall protection, proposing $13,260 in total penalties. The judge found that the Secretary did not show…
Randall Mechanical, Inc.
Late-contest ruling remanded under Eleventh Circuit precedent
Randall Mechanical filed a late notice of contest and sought relief from the resulting final order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1). An administrative law judge denied relief and dismissed the case, and the decision became final when the Commission did not direct review. The Eleventh…
Aluminum Shapes, LLC
Estoppel defense remanded for proper summary-judgment review
Aluminum Shapes and OSHA had a settlement that limited two planned monitoring inspections while allowing complaint and referral inspections. After a January 2017 inspection and later entries, OSHA issued 51 citation items with $1,922,895 in proposed penalties. Aluminum Shapes asserted equitable…
Tessier's, Inc.
Roof-hole fall protection violation affirmed
Tessier's employees were installing HVAC roof curbs when they decided to trim a wooden cover that protected a roof opening. The employees assumed the cover was attached to the building, but it was a friction-fit cover and was not fastened to the structure. As an employee leaned on the cover while…
Seward Ship's Drydock, Inc.
Prior decisions vacated after notice of contest withdrawn
The Ninth Circuit reversed the Commission's earlier decision in the Seward Ship's Drydock case and returned the matter to the Commission. After the court's mandate, the company withdrew its notice of contest under Commission Rule 102. The Commission therefore vacated both its 2018 decision and the…
Gate Precast Company
Repeat fall-protection violation affirmed beyond red warning tape
Gate Precast assigned two temporary employees to work on a hotel roof about 24 feet above ground without personal fall arrest systems. The foreman told them to remain behind red tape placed about six feet from the unprotected edge. One temporary employee then helped guide a swinging overhead load…
Science Applications International Corp., d/b/a SAIC
Drowning hazard citation affirmed for marine training
SAIC trained sea lions to detect swimmers around Navy installations, requiring employees to swim in open water, sometimes at night. During a nighttime exercise, an employee acting as an evasive swimmer remained in San Diego Bay while the sea lion became distracted, and the team lost contact with…
Cooper/T. Smith Corporation d/b/a Blakeley Boatworks, Inc.
Shipyard fall citation affirmed after misconduct defense rejected
A Blakeley Boatworks supervisor and fitter replaced part of a ladder inside a barge tank while working more than five feet above the floor without fall protection. The supervisor fell eight to nine feet and was hospitalized with multiple serious injuries. The parties agreed that OSHA proved the…
TNT Crane & Rigging, Inc.
Power-line citations remanded because boom lowering was disassembly
TNT Crane & Rigging employees were preparing a mobile crane for transport after completing a communications-tower project. While the boom was being lowered so its jib extensions could be removed, a worker holding the hoist line contacted a 14,400-volt power line and sustained severe electrical…
Secretary of Labor v. Bragg Crane Service
Secretary of Labor v. Bragg Crane Service (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0303): Suspended-load penalty reduced to $200
Bragg Crane Service used a crane to move a 40,000-pound hopper at Spanish Springs Pit #6. Judge David Simonton found that a Bragg employee briefly entered the established 10-foot fall zone around the suspended load, violating the rule that persons stay clear of suspended loads, but the evidence did…
Brubacher Excavating, Inc. and Traffic Control Services LLC, d/b/a Flagger Force
Traffic-control citations vacated
Brubacher Excavating performed road construction while Flagger Force supplied traffic-control services. OSHA cited both employers under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.200(g)(1) after warning signs were omitted from the southbound approach and a nearby exit ramp, and a vehicle struck and seriously injured a…
C & W Facility Services, Inc.
Personal flotation device citation affirmed
C & W Facility Services managed janitorial work at the Tampa Convention Center, including workers carried on subcontractor Awnclean's weekly payroll. A worker pressure washing an unguarded dock without a personal flotation device walked backward into Tampa Bay and drowned. The judge found that C &…
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Solar Sources Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0099): Berm penalty vacated and remanded
Solar Sources Mining was cited after a haul truck went through a deficient berm at a surface mine and overturned 47 feet below, while the driver escaped with serious foot and ankle injuries. The judge affirmed the berm violation as S&S, high negligence, and an unwarrantable failure, then assessed…
Houran USA Construction, LLC
Three serious construction citations affirmed
Houran USA Construction renovated a three-story building using a four-tier scaffold. OSHA cited the company after an inspector observed an employee without a hard hat below scaffold work, employees using a scaffold with a missing guardrail about 24 feet above the ground, and an access ladder that…
Stone House Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Jacksonville Granite
Late notice of contest dismissed
Stone House Enterprises fabricates and installs granite countertops. OSHA issued citations from two inspections addressing fire-extinguisher maintenance, forklift and hazard-communication training, and silica-related conditions. The company received both citation packages on June 6, 2019, but did…
Master Construction Co., Inc.
Roadwork traffic citation affirmed, training citation vacated
Master Construction managed a road-expansion project where concrete trucks repeatedly entered and left an active paving area. An employee walking through the truck operating area to retrieve material was run over by a concrete mixer and sustained two broken legs. The judge found a recognized…
Keenan, Hopkins, Schmidt and Stowell Contractors, Inc., d/b/a KHS&S Contractors
Aerial-lift guardrail citation affirmed
KHS&S employees installed exterior drywall from an aerial lift about 60 to 80 feet above the ground. To reach around structural beams and ductwork, they repeatedly climbed onto and worked from the lift basket's guardrails while tied to self-retracting lanyards. The judge found that the aerial-lift…
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance, Inc. (FMSHRC PENN 2019-0126): Safeguard citation vacated
A hook clevis broke while GMS Mine Repair employees were using a mule to move a longwall shield at Bailey Mine, sending the hook 33 feet through the air and striking a miner. MSHA cited GMS under a 2006 safeguard that had been issued in writing to mine owner Consol after a different chain failure…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2018-0244): Gas-well barrier citations vacated
MSHA cited Consol Pennsylvania Coal for allegedly failing to obtain gas-well pillar protection approvals for the NV-34 and NV-60 wells near mined-out areas of Enlow Fork Mine. Judge John Kent Lewis held that the oil-and-gas-well rule applies even when wells are drilled behind completed mining, but…
Vrex Construction, Inc.
Contest dismissed after procedural default
OSHA issued Vrex Construction serious construction citations with proposed penalties totaling $34,738. After filing a timely contest, the company did not return its posting verification, answer the Secretary's complaint, respond to an order to show cause, or follow through after Commission staff…
Steven S. Moalemi, M.D., P.C., d/b/a Empire Physical Medicine and Pain Management
Default dismissal set aside
OSHA cited a medical practice for three serious violations and proposed $7,392 in penalties. An administrative law judge dismissed the employer's contest after it missed four telephone conferences and did not respond to an order to show cause. The Commission found a discrepancy between the…
Secretary of Labor v. Superior Silica Sands, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Superior Silica Sands, LLC (FMSHRC CENT 2019-0133): Railcar violations assessed at $44,786
A newly hired electrician with no railcar experience was fatally injured after two uncoupled railcars began rolling and he attempted to set a handbrake on a moving car. Judge Margaret Miller found that Superior Silica Sands had not adequately trained him on railcar hazards, braking, communication…
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.