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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Coleman Hammons Construction Co., Inc.
Case returned after court reversal
The Commission had previously affirmed an administrative law judge's dismissal of Coleman Hammons Construction's late notice of contest. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed that decision and returned the case to the Commission. Acting on the court's mandate, the Commission…
Secretary of Labor v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc. (FMSHRC VA 2013-0291 M): Examination violation affirmed and penalty remanded
A Sunbelt employee was injured by material falling inside a cement-plant preheat vessel after the company's examiner inspected the upper compartment only from portholes one floor below. The Commission affirmed that the entire vessel was a working place and that an adequate examination required…
Terence Froman, Inc.
Attorney-fee application denied
OSHA cited Terence Froman under the general duty clause over spring clips on a concrete-pump boom coupling, then withdrew the citation before adjudication. The company applied under the Equal Access to Justice Act for $4,999.10 in attorney fees and expenses. The judge found that the Secretary's…
Eagle Cornice Company, Incorporated
Roof fall-protection citation affirmed
Eagle Cornice employees cut an opening in a low-slope roof more than 19 feet above the floor. One employee returned to the roof without putting on his fall-arrest harness, stepped into the opening, and fell to the level below. The judge found that the crew foreman knew or should have known the…
GTA Co., Inc.
Late contest of willful citation dismissed
OSHA issued GTA excavation citations, including a willful item carrying a proposed $56,908 penalty. The company received the citations on January 15, 2019, making February 6 the deadline to file a written contest, but it did not contact OSHA until mid-March. The judge found no excusable neglect…
Basic Energy Services, LP
Well-servicing rig hazard citation affirmed
Basic Energy Services used a mobile well-servicing rig to pull pipe stuck thousands of feet underground. A derrick hand remained on a platform about 60 feet above the rig floor while the crew substantially increased pulling force and used jars to free the pipe. The rig tipped over, killing the…
Speedy Rooter/Capital Plumbing, Inc.
Trench violations affirmed
Speedy Rooter replaced a residential sewer line using a trench more than six feet deep. The judge found that the two workers were company employees, not independent contractors, because Speedy Rooter obtained and assigned the work, paid them by the hour, and supplied tools and permits. OSHA proved…
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Ebert v. The Marshall County Coal Company
Secretary of Labor obo Jason Ebert v. The Marshall County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2020-0133-DM): Temporary reinstatement ordered for alleged family retaliation
Jason Ebert alleged that Marshall County Coal forced him to resign two days after hiring him because management learned that his brother was a vocal safety advocate who had filed Mine Act discrimination complaints. The company initially requested a hearing on temporary reinstatement but withdrew…
Michael Barr d/b/a Barr Construction
Roofing, scaffold, and ladder citations affirmed
Barr Construction reroofed a residence using ladder-jack scaffolds and a steep roof. An OSHA inspector observed employees without fall protection on the scaffolds in the morning and again on the roof later that day, with fall exposures of about 18 to more than 20 feet. The inspector also observed…
Guaranteed Home Improvements, LLC
Ladder citations split after employee fall
Guaranteed Home Improvements used an extension ladder to access a snow-covered convenience-store roof. The ladder slid on wet, snowy pavement while an employee descended, causing a fall that resulted in multiple serious injuries. The judge vacated the allegation that the ladder failed to extend…
Chambers Construction Co.
Roof fall and training citations affirmed
Chambers Construction assigned two employees to patch leaks on a low-slope commercial roof four to five stories above the ground. The employees used no compliant fall-protection system, and one had received no training on recognizing and minimizing fall hazards. The company believed the roof's…
Gavilon Grain, LLC
Machine-guarding citation vacated, dust-housekeeping citation affirmed
OSHA inspected Gavilon's corn mill and cited an unguarded rotating shaft bushing and grain-dust accumulations near an outdoor grain leg. The judge vacated the machine-guarding item because employees performing maintenance used a hatch about five feet away while the equipment was locked out, and…
Casale Construction Services, Inc., d/b/a Casale
Repeat trench violations affirmed
Casale Construction installed a pipeline using a trench about six feet deep near an active roadway. A foreman directed a laborer to work for up to three hours in the trench without cave-in protection while excavated material remained at the trench edge. The judge rejected the company's…
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc., and its successors and Secretary of Labor v. Reginald S. Hoover, employed by Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Hoover Excavating & Trucking, Inc. and Reginald S. Hoover (FMSHRC WEST 2019-0277): Blasting violations and agent liability affirmed
A blast detonated prematurely at Hoover Excavating's surface stone mine while eight miners remained in the pit area, and three miners were seriously injured by flyrock and debris. Judge Margaret A. Miller found that mine owner Reginald Hoover ignored the initiating device's warning not to connect…
Secretary of Labor v. Hopkins Hill Sand & Stone, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Hopkins Hill Sand & Stone, LLC (FMSHRC YORK 2019-0025): Late death notification citation affirmed
Hopkins Hill's general manager suffered a fatal heart attack from natural causes while at the company's open-pit crushed stone mine. Mine management knew of the death by 11:24 a.m. but did not notify MSHA until 12:56 p.m., one hour and 17 minutes after the 15-minute reporting deadline. Judge…
Infra-Red Building and Power Service Inc.
Electrical safety citations split
Infra-Red employees replaced batteries in an energized uninterruptible power supply at a police station, and one employee sustained a serious hand burn during the work. OSHA issued four serious electrical-safety citation items addressing training, safety-related work practices, personal protective…
Tony Watson, d/b/a Countryside Tree Service
Willful woodchipper and PPE violations affirmed
Countryside Tree Service used a five-person crew at three residential tree-removal sites. A 23-year-old employee with no tree-service experience was killed after becoming ensnared in a woodchipper on his first day of work. The judge found that the owner allowed two inexperienced employees to feed…
FreightCar America, Inc.
Railcar assembly hazard citation vacated
Workers assembled railcars by positioning top-heavy end panels with a crane and securing them to side panels with corner pins. An end panel fell after the crane was detached and an employee removed the remaining pins, seriously injuring two workers. The judge found that FreightCar America was…
URS Federal Services, Inc.
Grinder compatibility citation affirmed
URS Federal Services employees repaired military vehicles using grinders and grinding stones supplied through a Department of Defense tool counter. A worker used a stone rated for 9,070 revolutions per minute on a grinder rated for 12,000 revolutions per minute, and the stone broke apart, causing a…
Birdsboro Kosher Farms Corp.
Lockout, noise, exit, and PPE citations largely affirmed
Birdsboro Kosher Farms operated a large poultry-processing facility with a history of OSHA citations and settlements addressing lockout/tagout and occupational noise. The judge found that Birdsboro still lacked required machine-specific energy-control procedures, adequate authorized-employee…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (FMSHRC PENN 2018-0169): Eleven safety citations affirmed with reduced penalties
MSHA issued 11 citations at Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Harvey Mine involving unsupported-roof warnings, damaged electrical and hoisting cables, equipment certification and mapping records, training documentation, noise exposure, and ventilation controls. Judge William B. Moran affirmed…
Pacific Tech Construction, Inc.
Table-saw and electrical citations affirmed
Pacific Tech Construction renovated a medical clinic at an Air National Guard base. OSHA observed employees ripping plywood on an unguarded table saw and found multiple uncovered 110-volt outlets and switches that remained energized while employees painted and worked nearby. The judge found that…
FabArc Steel Supply, Inc.
Lockout and forklift violations affirmed
FabArc Steel Supply manufactured fabricated steel products at its Oxford, Alabama facility. OSHA cited the company after an inspection found issues involving fall-protection training, hazardous-energy controls during motor removal, and a forklift operated with a broken horn and fluid leaks. The…
International Fire Protection, Inc.
Narrow scaffold-plank citation affirmed
International Fire Protection employees replaced sprinkler-system components inside a cooling tower about 40 to 50 feet above the ground. The crew used movable wood planks about 10 inches wide as working surfaces and walkways, and a foreman suffered a serious arm injury when a plank twisted and he…
North Shore Strapping Company
Four roofing fall-protection violations affirmed
North Shore Strapping used employees and company managers to replace the roof of its Ohio manufacturing facility. OSHA observed an employee riding an aerial lift without tying off and workers installing roofing material near a 25-foot roof edge without an effective fall-protection system. The judge…
Red Lake Nation Fisheries, Inc.
Tribal-enterprise citations dismissed
Red Lake Nation Fisheries was a commercial fishing and fish-processing enterprise owned and operated by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians on its Minnesota reservation. After two employees drowned while harvesting fish, OSHA cited the enterprise for not requiring personal flotation devices and…
Northpac Corporation d/b/a Northpac Construction
Contest dismissed after discovery defaults
OSHA cited Northpac Construction after inspecting a worksite in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. The employer timely contested one serious and two repeat violations carrying $12,197 in proposed penalties. During the case, Northpac repeatedly provided incomplete discovery responses, failed to…
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Co., successor to Consolidation Coal Co.
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0074): Accumulation cases settled for $40,500
The Secretary cited Monongalia County Coal for three combustible-material accumulation violations and two inadequate belt-examination violations across three dockets. The accumulation citations had also been identified as possible predicates for a repeated flagrant theory in related litigation. The…
TNT Crane & Rigging, Inc.
Crane ground-support violation affirmed
TNT Crane & Rigging used a mobile crane to replace rooftop air-conditioning units at a Texas retail store. During setup, the operator swung the fully counterweighted crane while its outriggers were only half extended and two rear outriggers lacked steel support mats. An outrigger broke through…
Tower King II, Inc.
Communications-tower rigging citation vacated
Tower King performed antenna work about 1,000 feet above ground on a communications tower. A gin pole detached from the tower, and three employees who were tied to it fell and died. OSHA cited Tower King under the general duty clause, alleging that an incomplete rigging plan created fall and…
Henry Marine Service, Inc.
Attorney-fee application denied
Henry Marine previously won summary judgment vacating OSHA citations concerning safe access to a tugboat and personal flotation devices. The company then sought $92,402.64 in attorney fees, expert fees, and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act. The judge found Henry Marine eligible and a…
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0087-R): Ventilation-plan revocation vacated
MSHA revoked Knight Hawk Coal's long-approved ventilation plan for perimeter mining at the Prairie Eagle Underground Mine and cited the company for operating without an approved plan. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that MSHA relied on unreliable smoke testing and evidence of agency bias against…
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0087-R): Initial ventilation-plan ruling later amended
MSHA revoked Knight Hawk Coal's approved ventilation plan for perimeter mining at the Prairie Eagle Underground Mine and cited the company for operating without an approved plan. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy found that MSHA relied on unreliable smoke testing and evidence of agency bias, while failing…
New Finish Construction, LLC
Electrical and conductive-ladder violations affirmed
New Finish Construction installed a metal roof at a Pennsylvania residence. After the owner threw a steel roof anchor from the roof and it caught on a 12,000-volt power line, an employee climbed an aluminum ladder and used a metal pole to try to dislodge it; he was electrocuted and died. The judge…
Jersey City Medical Center
Electrical-safety and willful training violations affirmed
A Jersey City Medical Center maintenance mechanic received an electric shock while working on a 277-volt light fixture, fell from a ladder, and later died from his injuries. OSHA cited the hospital for failing to deenergize live parts, use electrical lockout/tagout procedures, maintain compliant…
R. K. Wallace Construction Inc. d/b/a Wallace Steel Erectors
Eye and fall-protection violations affirmed
Wallace Steel Erectors was a subcontractor on a Mississippi construction project. OSHA observed one employee cutting metal with an angle grinder without eye protection and five employees working about 15 feet above concrete without being tied off or otherwise protected from falls. The judge found…
Echo Powerline, LLC
Power-line contact-prevention violation affirmed
Echo Powerline crews restored distribution lines in Oklahoma after an ice storm. While workers raised a quarter-mile section of distribution wire beneath an energized 69-kilovolt transmission line, the wire contacted the transmission line; one employee suffered burns and another died from…
Bergelectric Corp.
Fall-protection items vacated, recordkeeping item affirmed
Bergelectric employees installed electrical conduit above a casino ceiling 24 feet above the floor. One employee disconnected from fall protection, fell through the ceiling, and suffered broken ribs and spinal fractures; OSHA also found two improper lanyard-connection practices. The judge found…
FAMA Construction, LLC.
Roofing safety violations affirmed at two residential sites
FAMA Construction arranged roofing work at two residential construction sites in Lawrenceville, Georgia. OSHA cited ladder, eye protection, and fall protection violations involving two roofing crews. The judge found that FAMA was the workers' employer and, alternatively, a controlling employer that…
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Peabody Midwest Mining, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2017-0073): Three escapeway citations vacated
After Peabody Midwest stopped production on the old 2B panel, it moved the production equipment outby the former loading point, changed the ventilation, and began mining elsewhere. MSHA cited the company because the old panel no longer had tracking and communication, a lifeline, or working…
Edwin Taylor Corporation
Willful fall protection violation affirmed
Edwin Taylor Corporation supervised residential construction of three-story townhomes in St. Petersburg, Florida. Workers and company supervisors were repeatedly present above six feet without guardrails or other fall protection, and a laborer died after falling through an unprotected opening. The…
Sanderson Farms, Inc. – Processing Division
Ammonia process-safety items partly affirmed
Sanderson Farms operated a chicken processing plant that used anhydrous ammonia for refrigeration. OSHA cited several process safety management deficiencies involving engineering-practice documentation, diagrams, ventilation information, written mechanical-integrity procedures, and equipment…
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Buchanan Mining Company, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Consol Buchanan Mining Company, LLC (FMSHRC VA 2012-0042): Roof-plan violation remained non-S&S on remand
Consol Buchanan took a crosscut about two to three-and-a-half feet deeper than its roof control plan allowed in adverse roof conditions. The violation itself had already been affirmed, but a federal appeals court remanded the S&S question and directed the judge not to rely on redundant safety…
Secretary of Labor v. Yahara Materials, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Yahara Materials, Inc. (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0025): Dump-site berm citation settled for $286
MSHA cited Yahara Materials for failing to provide a berm at a dump site and proposed a $2,361 penalty. In settlement, the operator asserted that a spotter and berms were present, while the Secretary declined to provide requested inspection photographs. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy approved the…
CWP Asset Corp., d/b/a Mister Car Wash
Conveyor machine-guarding violation affirmed
Mister Car Wash moved vehicle-drying work inside a car wash bay near a conveyor system. An employee was hospitalized after his foot entered a gap above the conveyor's moving chain and sprocket. The judge found that this work arrangement made employee exposure to the moving parts reasonably…
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company, successor to Consolidation Coal Company
Secretary of Labor v. The Monongalia County Coal Company (FMSHRC WEVA 2015-0074): Long stay lifted in accumulation cases
Three penalty cases involving alleged combustible-material accumulations had remained stayed while related litigation addressed the meaning of a repeated flagrant violation. Judge Jerold Feldman found that the pending Commission appeal in the related Monongalia case did not require further delay…
All-Pro Construction Services, Inc.
Two residential fall protection citations affirmed
All-Pro Construction Services performed roofing work on new homes in central Florida. OSHA observed two separate three-person crews working on sloped roofs without required fall protection, first at a height of about 18 feet and then two days later at about 9 feet. The judge found that the…
Kimble Company, d/b/a Kimble Sanitary Landfill
Landfill struck-by citation vacated
Kimble operated a sanitary landfill where a front-loader struck and killed an employee who was on foot. OSHA alleged that employees were permitted to walk through vehicle-operating areas and cited the general duty clause. The judge rejected Kimble's arguments that the Mine Act or construction…
All Wall Builders, LLC
Roof fall protection and ladder citations affirmed
All Wall Builders was installing metal trusses on a commercial building roof in Cooperstown, New York. OSHA observed employees working on the roof without properly using fall protection and found an access ladder that did not extend three feet above the landing. The judge found that company…
Berkebile Auto Service, Inc.
Tow-truck crushing-hazard citation affirmed
Berkebile Auto Service operated an automotive garage and towing service in Pennsylvania. A tow-truck driver died after an off-loaded vehicle rolled forward and pinned him against the tow truck. The judge found that the driver was Berkebile's employee and that the company and towing industry…
Secretary of Labor v. Pennsy Supply, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Pennsy Supply, Inc. (FMSHRC YORK 2018-0004): Five alleged lead-safety violations vacated
MSHA issued Pennsy Supply five citations after a former employee alleged lead exposure while using a torch to remove bolts and washers from a sand screw. The citations alleged failures to report an occupational illness, maintain a safety data sheet, train miners, provide special protective…
Henry Marine Service, Inc.
Tugboat access and flotation citations vacated
Henry Marine operated a tugboat on the Mobile River, where an employee was found dead in the water near the vessel. OSHA cited the company for an unsafe means of boarding and leaving the vessel and for failing to provide a personal flotation device. The judge granted Henry Marine summary judgment…
Michael Deuso v. Shelburne Limestone Corp.
Michael Deuso v. Shelburne Limestone Corp. (FMSHRC YORK 2019-0015-DM): New safety allegation required prior MSHA investigation
Michael Deuso filed a discrimination case nearly 19 months after MSHA told him it could not assist with his age-discrimination and assault allegations. Judge Thomas P. McCarthy excused the late filing because MSHA had not told the self-represented miner about his right to bring his own Commission…
Tampa Electric Company
Ammonia emergency-response items vacated
An anhydrous ammonia release occurred at Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend power plant. OSHA cited the company's emergency response plan and the respiratory protection used by employees who investigated the release. The judge found that the Secretary improperly treated the emergency-response…
Outback Steel Services, LLC
Steel-joist securing and training citations vacated
Outback Steel Services was erecting structural steel for a new convenience store when steel joists fell and injured two plumbers working below. OSHA cited the company for failing to secure landed joists and for failing to provide training through a qualified person. The judge found that the…
Apollo Auto Sales & Service, Inc.
Late contests denied
OSHA issued Apollo Auto citations with $6,652 in proposed penalties and later issued a $25,868 failure-to-abate notification. Apollo Auto missed both 15-working-day contest deadlines and filed its contest months after receiving the original citation. The judge found no deception by OSHA, excusable…
Wynnewood Refining Co., LLC
Twelve refinery process-safety violations affirmed
A boiler exploded during a refinery turnaround at Wynnewood's Oklahoma facility, killing two employees. The Commission held that OSHA's process safety management standard applied because the boiler was interconnected with covered refinery processes and was located where a release could involve…
Quick Transport of Arkansas, LLC
Vacuum-truck explosion citation vacated
Quick Transport drivers used a propane torch to thaw frozen valves on vacuum-truck trailers used to haul produced water from oil and gas operations. An explosion occurred while a driver was preparing a trailer, and the driver died. The Commission majority found that the Secretary did not provide…
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor
Knight Hawk Coal, LLC v. Secretary of Labor (FMSHRC LAKE 2019-0087-R): Evidence limits denied in ventilation-plan case
Knight Hawk contested MSHA's revocation of its ventilation plan for perimeter mining at the Prairie Eagle Underground Mine. Before hearing, the Secretary sought to exclude evidence about other mines, information not presented to the district manager during negotiations, and testimony from a former…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Controlling-employer trench citation affirmed on remand
This supplemental decision followed a Fifth Circuit ruling that OSHA may cite controlling employers at multi-employer worksites for standards violations. Applying that ruling and the judge's earlier findings, the trench-protection citation against Hensel Phelps was affirmed. The item was…
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.