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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Anderson Columbia Co., Inc.
Truck-bed transport violations yield $14,000 penalty
Anderson Columbia used a pickup truck to carry an employee and oversized traffic warning signs along a highway work area. The employee fell from the moving truck bed and later died from his injuries. The judge affirmed a serious violation for failing to secure the signs and found that allowing the…
Stahl Roofing, Inc.
Roofing safety citations vacated for lack of employer knowledge
OSHA cited Stahl Roofing after employees at two residential worksites lacked required fall protection and, at one site, eye protection. The Commission found that Stahl had appropriate work rules, training, site inspections, and progressive discipline, and that the employees' prior safety records…
AMSCO, Inc.
Default dismissal vacated after missed conference
Amsco's attorney missed one scheduled prehearing telephone conference because of staffing and communication problems at his law firm. The judge declared Amsco in default and dismissed its notice of contest, relying partly on the attorney's conduct in unrelated cases. The Commission found no…
Frank Lill & Son, Inc.
Fall-protection violation reduced from willful to serious
Frank Lill employees worked and walked on narrow generator catwalks 75 to 85 feet above lower levels without guardrails, nets, or attached personal fall protection. The judge found that employees could foreseeably enter the fall hazard zone and that management knew workers did not always tie off…
Summit Contractors, Inc.
Subcontractor fall-hazard citations vacated for lack of knowledge
OSHA cited Summit, the general contractor for a large apartment project, for several fall hazards affecting subcontractor employees. The judge held that Summit's broad contractual and practical authority made it a controlling employer under the multi-employer worksite doctrine. She vacated the…
Extreme Buildings Services Corp.
Unclaimed mail and late contest lead to dismissal
Extreme Buildings Services did not claim OSHA's certified-mail package despite three postal notices. OSHA then delivered the citation by Federal Express, but the company mailed its notice of contest after the resulting 15-working-day deadline. The company did not respond to the Secretary's…
CIR Electrical Construction Corp.
Controller's illness does not excuse late contest
CIR Electrical filed its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline and did not respond to the Secretary's dismissal motion. The company explained that the citation had been placed on the desk of its controller, who was briefly out sick, and was not found until the controller returned. The…
Constructora Marvic, Inc.
First OSHA case does not excuse late contest
Constructora Marvic mailed its notice of contest after the 15-working-day deadline and did not respond to the Secretary's dismissal motion. The company said this was its first OSHA citation, it expected an informal meeting, it had corrected the hazards, and the penalty strained its finances. The…
Whirlpool Corporation, Oxford Division
Press safety and lockout violations affirmed
A press operator suffered severe head injuries when a mechanical power press cycled while she was inside it removing material. The judge found that Whirlpool lacked machine-specific energy-control procedures, left press-control keys available to operators without adequate supervision, and did not…
Cason Roofing, LLC
Late contest accepted after faulty service advice
OSHA's original certified mailing was returned, and the judge found that the agency had not proved its compliance officer later hand-delivered the citation. Cason Roofing did receive the citation by fax, which provided actual notice and completed service. OSHA personnel then incorrectly told the…
CB&I Constructors, Inc.
Gas-cylinder item withdrawn and fall item corrected to serious
The Commission reviewed a decision involving access, fall-protection, scaffold-platform, ladder, and compressed-gas-cylinder conditions during construction of a water tower. The Secretary withdrew the compressed-gas-cylinder item, and the Commission granted that withdrawal. It also corrected the…
M. DeMatteo Construction Co.
Defective lanyard and rigging items vacated
OSHA found a lanyard with a broken latch, bent wire ropes, and a come-along with a defective latch at a multi-employer construction site. The judge vacated the fall-arrest item because the Secretary did not prove that M. DeMatteo controlled or used the lanyard. She found that the wire-rope bends…
Native Textile Company
Knitting-machine guarding violation reduced to serious
Many knitting machines at Native Textile's mill had exposed chains and sprockets, defective stop-button caps, or both. A portable thread rewinder also lacked a grounding pin and strain relief. The judge found that employees could contact the moving parts and that management knew about the missing…
Coastal Paving, Inc.
Twenty-three items affirmed after contest withdrawal
OSHA issued Coastal Paving three citations containing 23 serious, willful, and other-than-serious items against its asphalt manufacturing operation. Before the hearing, Coastal withdrew its contest and stated that it was no longer in business, had no employees, and could not refute the Secretary's…
Calhar Construction, Inc.
Trench and backup-alarm violations affirmed
Employees worked in a trench more than seven feet deep with the access ladder over 60 feet away and set at an improper angle. The trench lacked an adequate cave-in protection system, and laboratory testing confirmed that the soil was not stable rock. OSHA also observed a front-end loader backing…
Lowe's Home Centers, Inc.
Bloodborne-pathogen vaccination plan violation affirmed
Lowe's exposure-control plan identified managers, first-aid volunteers, cleanup personnel, and others who could encounter blood or other potentially infectious material. Store practice also expected or permitted those employees to provide first aid and clean spills. The judge held that this…
Advanta USA, Inc.
Field sanitation violations yield $3,100 penalty
Advanta used contract crews to detassel seed corn but did not consistently provide enough single-use drinking cups. Toilet and handwashing facilities were also more than one-quarter mile from workers in several fields. The judge rejected Advanta's terrain and infeasibility arguments because…
AJP Construction, Inc.
Fall and scaffold violations resulted in $87,400 in penalties
AJP Construction performed concrete superstructure work at a residential construction site in Hoboken, New Jersey. OSHA conducted one inspection after a referral and another after falling form material struck an outrigger scaffold, causing it to collapse and killing an employee. The judge affirmed…
Yonkers Contracting Co., Inc.
Bridge fall item vacated for lack of employer knowledge
Yonkers employees worked over the East River during rehabilitation of the Manhattan Bridge, but no lifesaving skiff was immediately available. The judge affirmed that item because the skiff requirement applied even where bridge workers otherwise had fall protection. A separate fall-protection item…
Kelly-Hill Company
Crane violations affirmed with $17,000 in penalties
Kelly-Hill Company maintained railroad construction equipment at its Missouri shop. An employee was electrocuted when a crane lifting a tie inserter contacted energized overhead power lines. The judge affirmed violations involving the crane manufacturer's operating limits, missing load information…
Holland Roofing of Columbus, Inc.
Safety-monitor violations resulted in $2,500 in penalties
Holland Roofing used a safety-monitoring system for employees working on a flat roof more than 20 feet above the ground. The designated monitor left the workers' level and later turned away from them while helping place materials. The judge found that both actions violated the safety-monitor…
George B. Hardee Construction Company, Inc.
Trenching violations resulted in $36,800 in penalties
George B. Hardee Construction installed a storm sewer pipeline in an excavation in Mobile, Alabama. OSHA found two employees in Type C soil at depths exceeding five feet without cave-in protection, an adequate competent-person inspection, excavation-hazard training, or a safe means of exit. The…
Marchman Construction Corp.
Dismissal remanded because orders used an incorrect address
The chief administrative law judge dismissed Marchman Construction's notice of contest after the company did not answer the Secretary's complaint or respond to an order to show cause. The company petitioned for review and said it had not received the show-cause order. The Commission file showed…
Van Tassel Construction Corporation
Roof fall-protection violation affirmed
Van Tassel Construction employees installed decorative wood trusses on a shopping-center roof in Ohio. The judge vacated the allegation that the company's competent person failed to make frequent and regular inspections because the standard did not require an inspection immediately upon arriving at…
Municipal Services
Late contest dismissed and $3,750 penalty affirmed
OSHA issued Municipal Services seven serious citation items and one other-than-serious item with proposed penalties totaling $3,750. The company received the citation on May 9, 2001, but did not contest it by the May 31 deadline. Its president later said he had not read the OSHA letter carefully…
JFK Builders
Floor-opening fall violation affirmed
JFK Builders assigned two employees to clear snow and ice around a large floor opening so guardrails could be installed. Neither employee used fall protection, and one fell at least 10 feet to the basement floor and sustained serious injuries. JFK argued that protection was infeasible during the…
Patterson Drilling Company, L.P.
Rotary-table breakout hazard resulted in a $4,000 penalty
Patterson Drilling employees used one tong and rotary-table power to break a drill-pipe connection. A retaining bolt sheared, the tong swung around, and an employee was struck and later died from his injuries. The judge found that the oil-drilling industry recognized the danger of using rotary…
D’Allessandro Corporation
Excavation violations affirmed with $5,000 in penalties
D’Allessandro Corporation installed drain piping in a Type C soil excavation in Boston. OSHA found an employee working in a trench more than six feet deep without cave-in protection outside the trench box. The judge also found that no qualified competent person was present to inspect the changed…
American Wrecking Corporation and IDM Environmental Corporation
Willful demolition violations affirmed on remand
The Commission remanded this consolidated demolition case for credibility findings and a decision on whether each employer's Item 2 violation was willful. Unsupported bricks remained above employees cutting structural columns at a power-plant demolition site where a fatal accident occurred. The…
Branham Sign Company, Inc.
Default judgment affirmed the citation
Branham Sign Company did not comply with two pretrial conference and scheduling orders. After the judge issued a corrected order to show cause, the company's response did not explain those failures. The judge found that the company had refused to participate in pretrial conferences and had…
Icarus Industrial Painting & Contracting Co., Inc.
Eight serious health-protection violations affirmed
Icarus removed paint and repainted an Ohio bridge using an enclosed abrasive-blasting operation. OSHA alleged numerous violations involving lead, inorganic arsenic, respirators, protective clothing, medical monitoring, and hazard communication. The judge vacated most items because air-sampling…
Atlantic Bowling Installation Service
Failure to answer show-cause order led to $1,500 penalty
Atlantic Bowling Installation Service did not respond to an August 2, 2002 order to show cause. The judge found that this failure alone justified dismissing the company's notice of contest. He affirmed both serious citation items and assessed a total penalty of $1,500. The decision does not…
Amana Construction Co., Inc.
Lost OSHA mail did not excuse late contest
OSHA issued Amana Construction a citation alleging serious violations and proposing a $7,800 penalty. The company received the certified mailing but lost it without opening it and did not contact OSHA for replacement documents. The judge found that the company missed the 15-working-day contest…
Upstate Roofing, Inc.
Safety-monitor violations resulted in $18,000 in penalties
An Upstate Roofing employee fell nearly 20 feet from a roof while the company used a warning-line and safety-monitor system instead of guardrails or personal fall protection. The designated monitor also retrieved and passed large insulation sheets, which repeatedly diverted his attention from…
M&M Plastering, Inc.
Default dismissal referred back because of an incorrect ZIP code
An administrative law judge dismissed M&M Plastering's notice of contest after the company did not answer the Secretary's complaint or respond to an order to show cause. The Commission later found that the complaint and Commission correspondence had used the wrong ZIP code for the company's…
HRH Construction Corp.
Late contest dismissal affirmed
HRH Construction received an OSHA citation on June 29, 1999, but did not file its notice of contest until September 3, well after the July 21 deadline. The Commission affirmed dismissal of the late contest, but the two members used different reasoning. Commissioner Rogers applied Second Circuit law…
Kenny Industrial Services, LLC, d/b/a Kenny Manta Industrial Services
Scaffold fall-protection item affirmed
A Kenny Industrial Services employee applied fireproofing from a mobile scaffold near an unprotected fourth-floor edge. Although the scaffold platform itself was under 10 feet high, the worker could have fallen 20 to 24 feet to the second floor, and the scaffold's low toprail did not provide…
Classic Hosiery, Inc.
Discovery violations resulted in default judgment
Classic Hosiery did not respond to or attempt to comply with orders compelling discovery. The judge found that this disobedience constituted extreme misconduct. He granted the Secretary's motion for default judgment. The citations, failure-to-abate notification, and proposed penalties were…
Coastal Bridge Company, L.L.C.
Bridge-edge fall violation affirmed with reduced penalty
Coastal Bridge employees applied a finish coating while leaning over a 32-inch concrete bridge barrier above an active interstate highway. The fall distance was more than 24 feet, and the company used no safety net or personal fall arrest system. The judge applied the general unprotected-edge…
Luna Tech, Inc.
Settlement approved with $50,000 in combined penalties
The two cases arose from OSHA inspections of Luna Tech's fireworks-manufacturing plant, including an inspection after explosions and fires injured three employees and one later died. While the cases were under Commission review, the parties settled all remaining issues. The Secretary withdrew…
S. A. Storer and Sons Company
Repeat scaffold fall violation affirmed with reduced penalty
S. A. Storer employees performed masonry work from scaffolding about 19 to 20 feet above the ground. The judge found that the overhand-bricklaying exception did not cover an open window or the materials staging area because employees were not laying block at those openings. A controlled access zone…
Texas Electric Utility Construction, Inc.
Power-line tagging citation vacated
Texas Electric sent a journeyman foreman and four apprentice linemen to help another electric cooperative restore storm-damaged power lines. The host cooperative split the crew and placed two apprentices under its supervisor, who controlled the site and reenergized a line without required tags…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co., and its successors
Roof-edge citation vacated for lack of employee exposure
An OSHA compliance officer photographed workers on the second floor of a hotel structure where only one top rail protected an edge nearly 10 feet above the ground. OSHA attributed one photographed worker to Hensel Phelps because the worker appeared to be a woman and Hensel Phelps had one female…
C. E. Wylie Construction Co., and its successors
Roof-edge violation reduced to de minimis
A Wylie Construction employee installed a safety cable on a hangar roof without conventional fall protection. He briefly approached and leaned over a two-foot parapet above a 15-foot drop to answer a question. The judge found technical noncompliance because the employee was exposed without a…
Thompson Electric, Inc.
Eye-protection and recordkeeping items affirmed
A Thompson Electric crew worked inside a vault near energized 4,160-volt cable terminations, and no crew member wore eye protection. The crew supervisor received a fatal electric shock when his elbow contacted a tiny exposed spot in insulating tape on an adjacent energized lug. The judge affirmed a…
Evelyn D. Komes d/b/a Economy Roofing and Sheet Metal, and its successors
Roof fall violation affirmed with $5,000 penalty
Economy Roofing employees worked on a 30-foot-high flat roof without guardrails, warning lines, a safety monitor, or personal fall arrest equipment. OSHA observed one employee kneeling within three feet of the edge. Economy did not appear at the hearing, and the Secretary established a prima facie…
Rowland, Inc.
Settlement approved with $1,600 penalty
After the Secretary presented her case at the hearing, Rowland and the Secretary resolved all pending issues. Rowland withdrew its notice of contest and represented that it had complied with posting and service requirements. The judge approved and incorporated the settlement, disposed of the…
Duro-Last, Inc.
First-aid-room eating violation affirmed
OSHA cited three conditions at Duro-Last's roofing-material plant. The judge vacated the eyewash item because employees merely connected forklift batteries for charging and the Secretary did not prove exposure to corrosive electrolyte. He also vacated the machine-shaft guarding item because…
D.R.B. Boring and Drilling Construction Co., Inc.
Four excavation violations affirmed
D.R.B. Boring and Drilling used an excavation approximately 10 feet wide, 32 feet long, and nearly 10 feet deep. The judge found that the ladder and loose-earth ramp did not provide safe access, water had accumulated without adequate precautions, employees lacked protection from falling or rolling…
Marianas Garment Manufacturing, and its successors
Late contest dismissed with no penalty
Marianas Garment Manufacturing admitted that its notice of contest was late but sought relief under Rule 60(b). It argued that the citation was void because OSHA lacked jurisdiction over conditions in residential dormitories. The judge held that the argument concerned statutory coverage, not the…
Keystone Structural Concrete Ltd., and its successors
Settlement withdrew both electrical items
The judge had vacated Keystone Structural Concrete's notice of contest after its attorney failed to timely execute a settlement and respond to an order to show cause. On reconsideration, the judge restored the contest because settlement is encouraged and the client should not bear the attorney's…
FPM Group, Ltd.
EAJA fee application denied after citation withdrawal
OSHA withdrew a serious compressed-gas citation against FPM Group before the case was set for hearing. FPM then sought fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act for work performed by its president and an administrative assistant. The judge held that a self-represented party is not…
C. I. Thornburg Co., Inc.
Settlement approved with $25,250 penalty
OSHA cited C. I. Thornburg after inspecting pipe work at a West Virginia water-treatment plant. The parties settled before litigating the citation merits. Three citation groupings remained serious with penalties of $1,750 each, while the alleged willful item was amended to unclassified with a…
Parisi Construction, Inc.
Safety penalties reduced to $3,000
Parisi Construction did not dispute five citation items involving high-visibility clothing and several silica and respiratory-protection requirements. The only issue was the amount of the proposed penalties, which totaled $9,000. The judge considered that the road workers had partial protection…
C&C Erecting, Inc.
Settlement resolved steel-erection citations with no penalty
The case involved fall-protection training, aerial-lift, roof-opening, and steel-erection allegations at a Wisconsin construction site. While the matter was under Commission review, the parties settled all outstanding issues. One training instance, two aerial-lift items, and the alleged willful…
Ingram Plastering and Company, Inc.
Scaffold and hard-hat violations resulted in $10,800 in penalties
Ingram Plastering employees performed exterior stucco work from scaffolding up to about 23 feet high. The judge found that work levels were not fully planked, no qualified competent person inspected the scaffold before shifts, employees did not consistently wear hard hats, and one employee lacked…
B. S. Carter Construction Co., Inc.
Training and cave-in violations affirmed
B. S. Carter Construction replaced a drainage pipe in an excavation at least 13.5 feet deep. The excavation collapsed, completely burying one employee and partially burying another; the first employee sustained multiple serious injuries. The judge found that the workers had received no…
Joel Patterson Air Conditioning Recycling
Workplace violations resulted in $4,100 in penalties
Joel Patterson Air Conditioning Recycling paid workers daily to dismantle used air conditioners at its warehouse but labeled them subcontractors. Applying the economic-realities test, the judge found they were employees because the business controlled the workplace, pay, hours, equipment, hiring…
J-Lenco, Inc.
Lockout and machine-guarding violations resulted in $6,250 in penalties
J-Lenco manufactured sand molds using machines with electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic energy. An operator's arm was crushed when he tried to push a drifting machine component back into place. The judge affirmed serious violations involving excess flammable-liquid storage, inadequate…
S. E. Johnson Companies, Inc.
Defective guardrail violations resulted in $7,500 in penalties
S. E. Johnson employees replaced a missing guardrail section on a bridge work platform with a single two-by-four tied to columns with wire. A subcontractor employee leaned or sat against the rail, it slipped from the wire, and he fell 17 feet and sustained severe injuries. The judge vacated the…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.