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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Owens-Corning Fiberglas
The Commission grants the parties' settlement
The Commission grants the parties' July 27, 1979 stipulation and settlement agreement. The brief order does not describe the citations, settlement terms, or penalty. Commissioner Cottine dissents because he would send the case back to the judge for findings and conclusions on whether the settlement…
Western Waterproofing Co., Inc.
Scaffold citations affirmed after court remand
Western Waterproofing employees worked from a suspended scaffold between the tenth and eleventh floors of a building, with another employee stationed on a patio below. The scaffold lacked required protection on open sides and ends, and one worker fell five stories from its front. The Commission…
Gilbert Manufacturing Company, Inc.
A request for more time to abate is a modification petition, not a contest of the whole citation
Gilbert Manufacturing was cited for 16 alleged OSHA violations. Within the 15-day period for contesting a citation, it sent the Secretary a letter asking for more time to abate six of the items and contesting the proposed penalty on one item. The Secretary treated the letter as a notice of contest…
The Rogers Manufacturing Co.
The cited press-die standard does not reach a hazard created by the guard itself, so the citation is amended to the general guarding rule and conditionally affirmed
Rogers made pulleys on an Aida #32 mechanical power press. The operator reached 14 to 16 inches in between the die shoes — which were only 8 inches apart — to set a workpiece into a pocket in the lower die, withdrew her hands, and tripped the cycle with a foot pedal, about 25 to 30 pieces every 15…
Gardner-Denver Company
Settlement order corrected to vacate item 34
Gardner-Denver and the Secretary had entered a settlement agreement that was reflected in an Administrative Law Judge's order. The Commission modified paragraph 7 of that order to state that citation 1, item 34 was vacated, as the settlement required. It affirmed the judge's order as modified, and…
Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation
Sample monitoring proves noise overexposure without continuous measurement, and engineering controls are feasible even when they cannot bring every product size within the table
Wheeling-Pittsburgh galvanizes steel pipe at a plant in West Virginia. Pipe is dipped in a pot of molten zinc, wiped, and then rolled to a blowout station where an operator seats one end of the pipe in a "blowout bell" and steps on a pedal, sending a pressurized steam blast through the pipe to…
K. L. Spring & Stamping Corporation
Settlement approved and later abatement request left to Rule 34
K. L. Spring & Stamping was cited for four serious and six nonserious violations, with total proposed penalties of $1,260. The company contested the penalties and the abatement date for point-of-operation guarding on two testers, and the United Steelworkers elected party status. A settlement…
Communications, Inc.
Trench violations deemed repeated and willful
Communications, a utility contractor, had two employees working in a trench about 6 feet 2 inches deep with unsupported vertical walls and excavated soil stored within 2 feet of the edge. The Commission affirmed violations of the trench-support standard and the spoil-pile setback standard because…
Borg-Warner Corporation, Morse Chain Division
Noise-control citation vacated for lack of feasible abatement
Borg-Warner's Morse Chain Division used high-speed presses to make automotive and industrial chains at its Ithaca plant. OSHA cited the company under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1) for failing to reduce excessive press noise through feasible engineering or administrative controls. The judge found that…
Matter of Ng
Advance reapplication permission unavailable in exclusion proceedings
The Board reviewed an appeal from an immigration judge's grant of advance permission to reapply for admission to a person found inadmissible in exclusion proceedings. It held that an immigration judge may grant nunc pro tunc permission to reapply when that relief will completely dispose of a case…
R. L. Sanders Roofing Company
Unguarded flat-roof fall hazard violates the general duty clause
R. L. Sanders was a roofing subcontractor working on a school roof about 13 feet above the ground with no perimeter guarding. An employee pulling a hot-asphalt spreader fell from the roof after asphalt splashed on him, and the spreader tipped and spilled hot material onto him, causing severe burns…
Hughes Drilling Company Inc.
Drilling citations partly vacated without substantive Commission review
Hughes Drilling operated an oil and gas drilling rig where an employee was caught in a catline and cathead after the line was used without being attached to a load. The judge vacated a general duty clause citation because the Secretary did not prove that the driller's absence from the controls was…
Meadville Forging Company
Noise failure-to-abate notification vacated
OSHA issued Meadville Forging a failure-to-abate notification under the occupational-noise standard for employees in its press, hammer, and shear departments, with a proposed additional penalty of $5,200. The final underlying citation required feasible administrative or engineering controls that…
Chromalloy American Corporation, Federal Malleable Division
Hearing proceeds while warrant appeal is pending
Chromalloy asked to postpone its Commission hearing while the Supreme Court considered whether to review a related court ruling that upheld an OSHA inspection warrant. The Commission denied interlocutory review of the judge's refusal to postpone the hearing. It explained that after the Supreme…
Early-Massman
A tied-off safety belt is not compliance with the rebar impalement standard, and one prior final order for the same standard makes the violation repeated
Early-Massman was the general contractor building a subway station at 15th and I Streets in Washington, D.C. During a September 11, 1975 inspection, a compliance officer saw one of its employees standing at the edge of an unguarded temporary wooden deck, lowering an air compressor hose to another…
Matter of Moreira
Active parental interest required for stepchild status
The Board reconsidered its prior treatment of visa petitions filed by stepparents for stepchildren, including illegitimate children. It held that marriage alone does not establish the required stepparent-stepchild relationship, and that the stepparent must have shown active parental interest in the…
Matter of Mena
Conviction record included plea colloquy identifying heroin
The Board reviewed the Immigration and Naturalization Service's appeal from an immigration judge's decision terminating deportation proceedings against a Mexican native and citizen who had been admitted as an immigrant. The respondent pleaded guilty in California to unlawful possession of a…
Matter of Hinojosa
Seven-year domicile completed during temporary absence
The Board reviewed an exclusion case involving a lawful permanent resident from Mexico who was found with about 60 pounds of marijuana after seeking readmission. It agreed that the applicant was excludable based on his marijuana-importation conviction, but held that he remained eligible to seek a…
Matter of Carrillo
Pre-invocation admission established deportability
The Board reviewed a respondent's appeal from a deportability finding based on entry without inspection. The respondent argued that the immigration judge denied a fair hearing by refusing a continuance, proceeding after counsel left the hearing, and requiring testimony despite an asserted Fifth…
Matter of Westman
Deferred sentencing still established conviction
The Board reviewed a Canadian respondent's appeal from a deportability finding based on a conviction for attempted grand larceny by passing a bad check. It held that the Washington statute required intent to deprive or defraud, making the offense a crime involving moral turpitude. The Board also…
Matter of Healy and Goodchild
Study at an unapproved school required student status
The Board reviewed consolidated exclusion proceedings for Irish citizen Mr. Healy and British citizen Mr. Goodchild, each of whom held a B-2 visitor visa but intended to attend a nine-month course at the Claymont School, which was not approved for nonimmigrant students. The Board held that an alien…
Matter of Salvail
Deportation order replaced with voluntary departure
The Board reviewed a Canadian respondent's deportation case involving two convictions under Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Canada for possessing stolen goods while knowing they were stolen. It held that the convictions involved moral turpitude and constituted a felony because the maximum…
Matter of Agustin
Marriage issue required a remand for fraud-relief review
The Board reviewed a Philippine respondent's deportation case after she had obtained an immigrant visa as an unmarried daughter but later acknowledged that she was married before the visa was issued. The Board held that the evidence did not establish that the marriage was void under Philippine law…
Matter of Eisen
Young medical student could not avoid labor certification
The Commissioner reviewed a Colombian applicant's request for adjustment of status as a nonpreference immigrant without a labor certification. The applicant was a young medical student who said he would not work while completing at least five more years of study and had enough money to support…
Wean-Pori, Inc.
Commission affirms withdrawal of an electrical-grounding citation after the union agreed it had been heard
Wean-Pori, Inc. was issued a serious citation on May 10, 1978 alleging an electrical-grounding violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1910.309(a) (incorporating the National Electrical Code), with a proposed penalty of $420. The company timely contested, and the United Steelworkers local elected party status as…
Jensen Construction Company
Serious bridge fall-protection violation affirmed
Jensen Construction Company was building a bridge over the Kansas River when OSHA observed its superintendent walking on a steel girder about 50 feet above the ground without fall protection. The Commission upheld a serious violation of the personal protective equipment standard and rejected…
Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation
Noise case remanded for protected expert discovery
OSHA cited Kaiser Aluminum under the occupational-noise standard and sought a discovery inspection of its plant by an outside expert. The judge found that the inspection could reveal trade secrets, limited entry to federal employees, and dismissed the citation when the Secretary said he could not…
Fabricraft, Inc.
Sewing-machine needle violation reduced to de minimis
Fabricraft manufactured women's sportswear and operated 46 single-needle sewing machines, 44 of which lacked needle guards. Operators' hands came within one-half inch of the needles, and the record included several minor puncture injuries. The Commission affirmed a violation of the…
RMI Company
A noise case goes back for evidence on economic feasibility, because the parties briefed it before Continental Can made economic feasibility part of the standard
This is a one-page order carrying out a court of appeals remand. It decides no part of the merits. What makes it worth reading is the timing problem it describes, where the law governing a case changed after the parties had finished arguing it. What the case was about. RMI Company ran a metal…
Matter of Allan Gee, Inc.
A corporation could petition for its sole shareholder
The Commissioner reviewed a petition by a Texas corporation seeking preference classification for its sole shareholder, a South African citizen, to work as a corporate executive. The District Director had treated the corporation and its shareholder as the same employer and denied the petition. The…
Matter of Raqueno
Innocent misrepresentation did not support section 241(f) relief
The Board reviewed a Philippine respondent's motion to reconsider a deportation decision after she entered with an immigrant visa classifying her as the unmarried daughter of a lawful permanent resident, despite having married before the visa was issued. The Board held that an innocent…
Matter of Hernandez
Guatemalan law treated acknowledged child as legitimate
The Board reviewed a visa petition filed by a Guatemalan lawful permanent resident for his daughter, who was born out of wedlock in Guatemala. The Acting District Director denied the petition on the ground that the daughter had never been legitimated. The Board held that Guatemalan law eliminated…
Upland Industries, Division of Emerson Electric Company
Trade-secret discovery order vacated
OSHA cited Upland Industries over excessive noise in its press room and sought an inspection by an outside acoustical engineering expert. The judge found that the inspection would reveal a trade secret and required either a federal expert or an outside expert bound by an agreement that included…
Builders Steel Company
Warehouse fall-protection case remanded
Builders Steel Company was constructing a single-story warehouse when OSHA observed employees working about 29 feet above the ground without fall protection. The company argued that the 30-foot steel-erection rule applied, while the Secretary relied on the 25-foot general fall-protection rule…
Matter of Astorga
Washington invalidity declaration cleared a possible prior marriage
The Board reviewed a visa petition filed by a United States citizen for a beneficiary who had married the petitioner in Washington after a possible prior marriage in Mexico. A Washington court had declared the prior marriage invalid from its inception, and the Board considered whether that…
Structural Metals, Inc.
Noise citation vacatur left in place
OSHA cited Structural Metals under the occupational noise standard. The judge vacated the citation after the Secretary repeatedly failed to file a timely complaint, explain missed deadlines, respond to show-cause orders, or oppose dismissal. A Commissioner initially granted review after treating…
Keppel's Incorporated
Late contest rejected for unamended citation items
OSHA issued Keppel's Incorporated two citations containing 12 alleged violations, then amended some items after informal conferences. Keppel's written contest was timely for the amended items but late for the original, unamended items. The Commission found that the company had not orally contested…
FMC Corporation
The in-use exception is the employer's to prove and never reaches hoses, and four citations in nine months make a violation repeated
FMC was building the Chevron Oregon, a 35,000-ton oil tanker, at its Swan Island yard in Portland, Oregon. An OSHA compliance officer inspected the ship on January 10, 1975 and cited FMC for a repeated nonserious violation of the shipyard housekeeping standard: hoses, welding leads, electric cords…
Boston Gear, A Division of Murray Company of Texas, Inc.
A judge loses power over his own order once he files it, so the Commission corrects the clerical penalty figure itself under Rule 60(a)
The Secretary of Labor and Boston Gear settled. Boston Gear agreed to withdraw its notice of contest and pay a penalty of 25 dollars. On October 27, 1978, Administrative Law Judge Ben D. Worcester approved that settlement. His order then assessed a penalty of 800 dollars, which was the figure the…
Everglades Sugar Refinery, Inc.
Unauthorized payloader repair violation affirmed
Two Everglades Sugar Refinery employees attempted to repair a payloader with a defective throttle linkage, and one employee was fatally injured when its raised bucket fell. The Commission held that the powered-industrial-truck maintenance rule applied because the hazard arose from allowing…
Matter of Alonzo
U.S. citizen child weighed heavily in waiver approval
The Commissioner reviewed waiver applications from a Mexican husband and wife who had obtained visas through fraud and had a child who was a United States citizen. The Commissioner held that the birth of a United States citizen child is a favorable factor that must receive considerable weight in a…
Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation
Flagman penalty reduced to $25
A Niagara Mohawk mechanic directed traffic near a roadside gas-line job without wearing the required red or orange warning garment. The Commission upheld the judge's credibility findings that he was acting as a flagman and that the foreman knew or should have known about the missing vest. It…
Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc.
Incomplete settlement order vacated
Jacksonville Shipyards and the Secretary reached a partial settlement after OSHA issued four citations, but two nonserious items had remained disputed at the hearing. Their later written stipulation claimed to resolve all outstanding issues without specifically addressing those two items. The judge…
Potlatch Corporation
Tractor-trailer hazard citation remained vacated
OSHA cited Potlatch Corporation under the general duty clause after an employee drove a tractor and pole trailer with inoperable trailer brakes. The judge found that driving without the trailer brakes was hazardous but that the evidence showed the industry considered it less hazardous than leaving…
American Hose Corporation
Settlement penalty corrected to $2,900
American Hose Corporation settled three OSHA citations covering alleged serious, willful, and nonserious violations at its Winchester, Indiana workplace. The settlement deleted one willful item, reduced penalties, extended two abatement dates, and withdrew the company's contest. The judge approved…
Noranda Aluminum Inc.
Abatement process ordered after stacking violation affirmed
OSHA cited Noranda Aluminum after an investigation found that heavy aluminum billets were not stored securely against rolling or collapse. The judge affirmed a serious violation and a $400 penalty, and the Eighth Circuit upheld both after Noranda sought review. The court vacated the original…
Matter of Da Silva
Family reunification supported waiver approval
The Commissioner reviewed a waiver application from a Portuguese citizen who had entered a fraudulent marriage after arriving in the United States as a fiancé and was found excludable for fraud. The Commissioner found that the applicant's current marriage to a United States citizen appeared viable…
Globe Industries, Inc.
Settlement remanded to specify abatement
OSHA issued Globe Industries two citations alleging two serious and one nonserious violation. Before the hearing, the parties agreed to reduce penalties, amend one serious item, and withdraw Globe's contest. Their agreement did not say whether abatement had already occurred or when remaining…
Owens Corning Fiberglass Corporation
Gloves required for fiberglass handling hazards
Owens Corning manufactured fiberglass insulation and provided gloves to some employees handling material in its bagging and rollup areas, but it did not require glove use and had limited replacements. The record showed risks from concealed hot glass, skin irritation, fiberglass penetration, and…
Sun Petroleum Products Company
Refinery gas-monitoring settlement approved
OSHA cited Sun Petroleum under the general duty clause for inadequate combustible-gas monitoring at its refinery, and the parties settled before a hearing. Sun agreed to withdraw its contest and immediately conduct gas testing through people knowledgeable about the equipment and locations where…
General Electric Company
Settlement affirmed after union consent
OSHA issued General Electric a three-item serious citation, and the local electrical workers union asked to participate in the case. The Secretary and General Electric later settled by withdrawing two items for lack of proof and ending the company's contest of the remaining item. The judge approved…
Matter of De Anda
Six-month practice suspension approved
The Board recommended suspending attorney Daniel De Anda from practice before the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Board for six months. It found that he repeatedly failed to file a client's suspension-of-deportation application and failed to appear at two scheduled hearings despite…
Williams Enterprises, Inc.
An unsecured crane counterweight was a recognized serious hazard
Williams Enterprises was assembling a crane at a Library of Congress construction project when it left a 43,000-pound counterweight standing upright on cribbing on a sloped street without fastening it. The counterweight toppled and killed two employees. The Commission held that the cited hazard was…
Fred's Frozen Foods, Inc.
Noise-expert inspection allowed with safeguards
OSHA cited Fred's Frozen Foods under the occupational noise standard and sought a plant inspection by an outside noise expert to evaluate possible engineering controls. The company argued that a nonfederal expert could reveal trade secrets and asked either to bar entry or require a nondisclosure…
Ralston Purina Company
Unguarded auger-pit violation affirmed
Ralston Purina operated a feed mill where an employee was fatally injured after entering a pit containing an operating screw conveyor. The pit's steel grille had been removed to improve material flow, and its remaining metal lid was bent, warped, and easily dislodged. The Commission found employee…
Matter of Opferkuch
Business visitor admitted for limited liaison work
The Board reviewed a West German citizen and landed Canadian immigrant who sought to enter the United States for short business visits as a salaried project specialist. He would act as a liaison between his Canadian employer and a Texas corporation, inspect facilities, and report information to his…
Logan County Farm Enterprises, Inc.
Zero-penalty settlement remanded
OSHA issued Logan County Farm Enterprises citations alleging 12 serious and six nonserious violations, with $3,040 proposed for the serious items. The parties settled by reducing the penalty to zero, withdrawing the contest, requiring abatement, and allowing a reinspection. The judge treated the…
P.A.F. Equipment Co., Inc.
A citation alleging a serious violation can be amended to allege a willful one after the notice of contest, because willfulness goes to the penalty and not to the cause of action
A compliance officer inspected P.A.F. Equipment's hand tool plant in Hiawatha, Kansas on July 18, 1975 and found thirteen mechanical power presses with no point of operation guarding: two presses in the vise grip area and eleven in the press room. The citation alleged a serious violation of the…
John R. Jurgensen Company
A direction for review is not self-sustaining, so when both sides ask the Commission not to decide, the judge's decision stands without Commission precedent
This is a short order declining to review a case the Commission had itself directed for review. It decides no merits question, and its interest is structural. What happened below. Administrative Law Judge Benjamin G. Usher, in a decision dated July 25, 1978, vacated a citation alleging that…
Matter of Warrach
Foreign ownership defeated residence-preservation request
The Regional Commissioner reviewed an application to preserve residence for naturalization from a lawful permanent resident employed by Mobay Chemical Corporation. Mobay was incorporated in New Jersey but was a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer A.G., a German corporation. The Regional Commissioner…
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.