Federal Agency Decisions
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board, each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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White Oak Corporation
Crane power-line violations affirmed with $1,355 penalties
White Oak operated a crane near 13,200-volt power lines at a Connecticut highway project. The crane boom and ball contacted the lines, and an oiler at the outrigger controls was electrocuted. The judge found a serious violation for failing to maintain ten feet of clearance and a nonserious…
Daniel Construction Company
Power-plant scaffold violation affirmed
Daniel Construction supplied maintenance employees to a Duke Power steam plant. A Daniel employee and a Duke employee were assigned to repair a boiler throttle valve about 140 feet above the plant floor, where no scaffold was provided and neither worker used a safety belt. Hot water or steam…
Gerstner Electric, Inc.
Serious trench citation amended and affirmed
Gerstner Electric dug a 14-foot-deep, 30-inch-wide trench beside heavily traveled roads in unstable soil that had already caved in several times. Two employees entered the unshored trench to begin installing protection, and a wall collapsed, killing one employee and injuring the other. OSHA cited…
Ed Miller and Sons, Inc.
Demolition-crane penalties reduced to $265
Ed Miller and Sons used a 3,000-pound wrecking ball suspended from a crane loadline by a used truck tire while demolishing Omaha's Union Station. The Commission found a serious violation because the tire was not a positive attachment and the ball could become accidentally disconnected, assessing…
Julius Nasso Concrete Corp.
Flat-roof perimeter allegation remanded
Julius Nasso Concrete Corporation performed concrete work on a 17-story building where OSHA cited unguarded floor perimeters and open shaftways. The judge affirmed serious violations involving open-sided floors from the 13th through 16th floors and unguarded openings on the 13th floor, assessing…
Mangone Shipbuilding Company
Ladder and oxygen-cylinder violations affirmed
Mangone Shipbuilding employees used portable ladders that were not lashed, blocked, held, or otherwise secured against displacement. Some ladders had been moved temporarily, and one worker continued grinding from a ladder after the coworker assigned to steady it left the area. OSHA also found two…
Muriel Manufacturing Company
Penalties for garment-shop violations affirmed
Muriel Manufacturing Company operated a contract garment-sewing shop where OSHA cited housekeeping, stairway, exit, fire-extinguisher, machine-guarding, electrical, posting, and recordkeeping conditions. The employer admitted 12 nonserious violations, while two abrasive-wheel items were vacated by…
Red Diamond Battery Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Abatement petition remanded for further proceedings
Red Diamond Battery Manufacturing repeatedly sought extensions of the deadline for correcting cited conditions, and the Secretary initially agreed to several extensions. When the employer requested another extension, the Secretary asked for a hearing. The administrative law judge dismissed the…
Fort Worth Enterprises, Inc.
Skylight charge vacated and reporting violation affirmed
Fort Worth Enterprises was constructing an office building through subcontractors, with a project manager as its only employee at the site. The project manager died after falling through a skylight opening, and OSHA cited the company for failing to guard or cover the opening and for failing to…
Lovell Clay Products Company
Unstable brick-storage item reinstated
Lovell Clay Products mined clay and manufactured bricks and tile at its Billings plant. One citation item described unstable brick storage but mistakenly identified the housekeeping subsection, while the complaint identified the secure-storage subsection without changing the underlying facts. The…
Paper Products Company, Inc.
Failure-to-abate charge reversed
Paper Products Company distributed paper products from a multistory building where OSHA had cited inadequate aisle clearance and marking. The employer did not contest the original citation, which required correction by April 17, 1973. After a reinspection two days later, OSHA issued a…
U.S.I. Clearing
Spray-booth settlement affirmed despite service error
U.S.I. Clearing contested a citation item requiring spray-finishing operations to be enclosed in a spray booth or room. The employer and the Secretary settled the item by extending its abatement date to August 15, 1974, with no penalty assessed. Commission rules required the employer to serve the…
Corporacion Raymond, S.A.
Serious citation settlement affirmed
Corporacion Raymond received one serious citation with an $800 proposed penalty and several nonserious citations carrying $240 in penalties. It contested only the serious citation, then entered a settlement withdrawing that contest and consenting to a final order affirming the citation and penalty…
Otis Elevator Company
Settlement affirmed after union received notice
Otis Elevator Company received a three-item nonserious citation with $155 in proposed penalties. Under a settlement, the Secretary withdrew item 2 and its $35 penalty because he believed the evidence was insufficient. Otis withdrew its contest to item 3, while item 1 had not been contested, leaving…
Dorfman Construction Company, Inc.
Amended settlement affirmed after union service
Dorfman Construction Company settled serious and nonserious citation items carrying $980 in proposed penalties. The agreement reclassified the § 1926.652(c) charge as nonserious and reduced its penalty from $700 to $175. It also withdrew one crane-related item and its $85 penalty, while the…
Kay-Townes, Inc.
Manufacturing violations and penalties affirmed
Kay-Townes manufactured television antennas and masts at a plant where OSHA cited numerous machine-guarding, electrical, exit-marking, and housekeeping conditions. The Secretary withdrew seven point-of-operation items at the hearing. The judge affirmed the remaining 18 nonserious violations…
Savannah Iron and Fence Corporation
Serious circuit-tagging violation affirmed
Savannah Iron and Fence was altering a monorail system while an electrical contractor temporarily connected the monorail circuit to a bridge-crane circuit. The steel contractor's foreman requested that power be shut off but did not ask whether the disconnect had been made inoperative and tagged…
Pinter-Zwicker Electrical Company, Inc.
Contest withdrawal granted after posting
Pinter-Zwicker Electrical Company received three nonserious citation items with $80 in proposed penalties and contested item 1. It later moved to withdraw the contest, stating that the conditions had been corrected, the penalty had been paid, the motion had been posted, and the company would…
John F. Beasley Construction Company
Bridge-construction violations affirmed
John F. Beasley Construction erected structural steel for an interstate bridge over the Mississippi River. OSHA cited long single-cleat ladders, uncertified lifting equipment, ironworkers working more than 50 feet above land and water without fall protection, and a girder released from its hoisting…
Cleveland Wrecking Company
Demolition defenses remanded for a hearing
Cleveland Wrecking admitted that it had not demolished a building through the horizontal-leveling method described in the cited rule. It argued that the rule did not apply to its method and that the method it used was safer. The company also admitted that a trailer dump body lacked the required…
Ron M. Fiegen, Inc.
Safety-net citation vacated and crane items affirmed
Ron M. Fiegen performed structural-steel work at a university construction site where an OSHA inspector observed employees on a temporary roof and suspended scaffold. The Commission upheld the inspection because the inspector had presented credentials to the general contractor, viewed the…
Franklin Lumber Co., Inc.
Sawdust failure-to-abate item vacated
Franklin Lumber did not contest an original citation, and OSHA later alleged that five conditions remained uncorrected after their abatement deadlines. The Commission held that, in a failure-to-abate case, an employer may defend on the ground that the originally cited condition was not actually a…
Kesler and Sons Construction Company
Premature failure-to-abate penalties reversed
Kesler and Sons performed sewer construction and received a citation requiring immediate correction of several conditions. OSHA reinspected the site before the employer's 15-working-day period for deciding whether to contest had expired and then issued additional failure-to-abate penalties. The…
Buck Kreihs Co., Inc.
Ship-repair violations and penalties affirmed
Buck Kreihs repaired ships and employed more than 100 workers aboard the Velma Lykes when OSHA inspected the vessel. The company admitted ten nonserious conditions involving sandblasting controls, respiratory protection, compressed-gas cylinders, welding cable, scaffolds, chain falls…
Healy-Kruse (A Joint Venture)
Contest withdrawal granted after posting
Healy-Kruse received four nonserious citation items with $150 in proposed penalties and filed a notice of contest. It later moved to withdraw the contest, stating that the conditions had been corrected, the penalty had been paid, and it would continue to comply with the Act. The motion initially…
Sequoyah Spinning Mills, Inc.
Plant penalties affirmed and noise penalties vacated
Sequoyah Spinning Mills manufactured carpet yarn at a plant with 246 employees. In docket 1012, the company admitted 16 nonserious conditions involving housekeeping, combustible materials, fire protection, chemical protection, machine guarding, compressed air, welding cylinders, and electrical…
Elmer Vath, Painting Contractor
Lifeline and fatality-reporting violations affirmed
Elmer Vath hired two painters to paint a building cornice from a two-point suspended scaffold and supplied the scaffold materials. One painter fell about 60 feet and died after a supporting beam slipped; he had removed his safety belt shortly before the incident. The judge found that the painter…
Barnaby Concrete Corporation
High-rise perimeter violation affirmed
Barnaby Concrete poured structural concrete for a high-rise building where portions of the 21st floor and all sides of the 22nd floor lacked required perimeter protection. Employees unloaded reinforcing materials through an unguarded 20-foot opening, and other employees worked on the open floors…
A. Friederich & Sons Company
Backfill excavation violation affirmed
A. Friederich & Sons excavated beside previously filled or backfilled soil while constructing an addition at a laboratory. The excavation face was sloped about 70 to 80 degrees and had no shoring or other support while employees used pneumatic breakers next to it. A section of the face collapsed…
The Austin Co., Inc.
Scaffold and ladder violations affirmed
The Austin Company was constructing a hospital addition where two employees worked from a suspension scaffold without safety belts or lifelines. Two other employees worked on a 12-foot scaffold without guardrails. The judge treated those conditions as a serious violation and assessed $550. He…
Universal Sheet Metal Corp.
Exterior-shaft railing citation vacated
Universal Sheet Metal installed ductwork in exterior shafts of a multistory hospital addition. After an employee fell from the 21st level and died, OSHA cited the company for failing to guard an open-sided triangular floor area at the building corner. The Commission found that a standard railing…
Martin Iron Works, Inc.
Open-floor citation vacated for lack of employee exposure
Martin Iron Works removed a 4-by-8-foot steel plate from a stairway platform about 170 feet above the basement floor at a construction site. The removal left an unguarded opening, and employees of another subcontractor worked nearby. Martin's own employees were not exposed and had no reason to…
VEPCO, Mount Storm Power Station
Mischaracterized abatement petition dismissed
OSHA cited VEPCO's Mount Storm Power Station for employee exposure to dust and requested an abatement plan. VEPCO submitted administrative controls for immediate protection and a longer-term engineering program, while maintaining that the administrative measures already achieved compliance. An OSHA…
Puterbaugh Enterprises, Inc.
Trench and recordkeeping violations affirmed
Puterbaugh Enterprises laid sewer pipe in a trench about ten feet deep and two feet wide with vertical walls and no shoring, bracing, sheeting, or sloping. The trench caved in and killed an employee who had returned to resume pipe-laying work. The Commission affirmed the serious trench violation…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission and Board decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, 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.