Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Allis-Chalmers Corporation
Side-shield item upheld, tractor-guarding item vacated
Allis-Chalmers employees used machine tools and compressed air in areas where metal particles could approach their eyes from the front or side. Although employees wore frontal safety glasses, the company did not generally require side shields. The Commission affirmed the eye-protection item and its…
Alpha Poster Service, Inc.
Most failure-to-abate and liquid-handling items upheld
Alpha Poster Service operated a small silk-screen printing business that OSHA reinspected after an earlier citation became final. The judge affirmed ten failure-to-abate items at $45 each, vacated two others, and affirmed two housekeeping and exit-obstruction violations as nonserious at $115 each…
Matter of Lau
Claimed adoption did not establish sibling visa eligibility
A naturalized United States citizen petitioned for a family preference visa for a woman he said his parents had adopted in China. His mother reported that no adoption papers were executed when the adoption allegedly occurred. The Board found that the applicable Chinese civil code required a written…
Norfolk and Western Railway Company
Railroad exemption rejected
OSHA issued two citations alleging 31 violations at Norfolk and Western Railway workplaces in Chicago. The railway admitted the violations and the penalty factors, leaving its claimed exemption from OSHA jurisdiction as the contested issue. The Commission relied on earlier decisions holding that…
Diamond International Corp.
Guarding citations upheld with reduced penalties
OSHA cited Diamond International for unguarded power-transmission equipment, unguarded saw blades, and stairways without handrails at its Idaho sawmill. The judge found nine power-transmission guarding violations but reduced their classification from serious to nonserious because employee exposure…
Philadelphia Coke Division, Eastern Associated Coal Corp.
Conveyor-ramp citation vacated
Philadelphia Coke used an enclosed, inclined conveyor ramp between two elevated screening stations. OSHA cited the company because the ramp rose about four to four-and-a-half inches for every twelve horizontal inches. The Commission held that the cited standard required stairs or a ramp where an…
State, Incorporated
Guardrail item upheld with increased penalty
State, Incorporated performed construction work at a steel plant. A blast from an operating furnace killed two employees who had been working above a non-operating furnace at least 135 feet away. The judge vacated OSHA's general duty clause citation because the evidence did not establish that the…
Wisconsin Electric Power Company
Ungrounded line truck violation affirmed
A Wisconsin Electric crew used a boom-equipped line truck to transfer energized overhead wires to a new utility pole. The truck and attached trailer were neither grounded nor barricaded, and the truck became energized when an exposed part of the boom contacted a primary wire. A lineman on the…
Hoerner Waldorf Corp.
Forklift citation vacated after witness exclusion
OSHA cited Hoerner Waldorf for allegedly operating two powered industrial trucks with defective brakes or a defective horn and for inadequate operator inspection training. Before the hearing, the judge ordered both parties to exchange witness and exhibit information in writing. The company…
Matter of Melendez
Parents' motion to reopen denied despite citizen child
Two Colombian parents conceded that they had remained in the United States beyond their authorized stays. They sought to reopen their deportation proceedings after a district court ruled in a separate case that deporting parents of a U.S. citizen child was unconstitutional. The Board held that the…
Crain Electric, Inc.
Eight construction items vacated for lack of exposure proof
Crain Electric was an electrical subcontractor on a large power-station construction project with many other contractors. OSHA cited temporary wiring conditions, floor openings, floor holes, and unguarded elevated floors and proposed penalties totaling $145. The compliance officer did not observe…
Burlington Northern Incorporated
Railroad exemption rejected
OSHA cited Burlington Northern for seven nonserious violations at a Nebraska railroad facility. The railroad stipulated that no Department of Transportation rule covered the specific working conditions and admitted the violations if OSHA had jurisdiction. The Commission relied on earlier decisions…
Chicago, West Pullman and Southern Railroad Company
Railroad exemption rejected
OSHA cited Chicago, West Pullman and Southern Railroad for failing to comply with 30 safety and health standards at a Chicago workplace. The parties resolved all issues except whether federal railroad regulation exempted the company from OSHA jurisdiction. The Commission relied on earlier decisions…
Matter of Escobar
Arrest records were not essential to deportability case
A Guatemalan citizen admitted entering the United States without inspection and appealed a deportation order. He argued that the immigration judge denied him due process by refusing discovery of records that might show an illegal arrest. The Board found that no evidence establishing his…
Underhill Construction Corp. and DIC Concrete, trading as DIC-Underhill, A Joint Venture
Construction violations upheld with penalty reductions
DIC-Underhill was erecting concrete high-rise structures at a large New York construction site. A serious guardrail citation and $1,000 penalty became final because the company's notice of contest referred only to a later six-item nonserious citation. The judge merged a duplicate nonserious…
Matter of Varagianis
Annulled drug conviction remained a deportation ground
A Greek lawful permanent resident was found deportable after a New Hampshire marihuana possession conviction. A state court later annulled his conviction record and sentence. The Board held that the conviction still counted for immigration purposes because New Hampshire law retained it for some…
Par Construction Company, Inc.
Unsupported trench violations affirmed
Three Par Construction employees worked in a trench that was more than five feet deep and dug in loose, unstable soil. The trench had not been shored, braced, sloped, or otherwise supported, and the company had not provided an adequate exit. The judge affirmed a serious trench-support violation…
D. Federico Co., Inc.
Trench exit and spoil-pile items affirmed
D. Federico was installing a sewer in a 14-foot-deep trench where an employee worked inside an open-topped wooden manhole chamber. The Commission held that soil stored within two feet of the trench exposed the employee to a hazard and that neither an eight-foot ladder nor a loose backfill ramp…
Beldon Roofing & Remodeling Co.
Flat-roof guardrail citation vacated
Beldon Roofing was reroofing a flat-roofed building, and an employee filled and carried buckets of hot tar near an unguarded roof edge. OSHA cited the company under the open-sided floor and platform guardrail standard and proposed a $500 penalty. The judge initially affirmed the item as nonserious…
Matter of Gonzalez
Earlier visa filing supported deportability finding
A Mexican citizen appealed a finding that he had entered the United States without inspection. He declined to testify beyond giving his name, while the Service introduced a visa petition his wife had filed before his arrest and an accompanying birth certificate showing birth in Mexico. The Board…
Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
Railroad exemption rejected
OSHA cited Southern Pacific for violating 12 safety and health standards at its Avondale, Louisiana workplace. The railroad admitted the alleged violations and the penalty factors. Its contested issue was whether federal railroad regulation created an industry-wide exemption from OSHA jurisdiction…
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
Meat-cutter PPE citations vacated
OSHA cited A&P supermarkets because meat cutters did not use metal mesh gloves and, in two stores, did not use protective aprons. The judge found that mesh gloves were not customary in retail meat departments, could interfere with handling meat, and raised sanitation and other practical concerns…
Underhill Construction Corp. and DIC Concrete Corp., trading as DIC-Underhill, A Joint Venture
Safety-belt and hard-hat items upheld
Two DIC-Underhill employees grouted elevator sills near an unguarded shaft without properly secured safety belts. The Commission affirmed the personal-protective-equipment violation but vacated a separately pleaded lifeline-use provision because that provision did not require employees to use…
Matter of Rodriguez
Visa waiver request required before suspension claim
A Mexican citizen who had entered without inspection sought suspension of deportation. He argued that his earlier deportation made him ineligible for an immigrant visa, as required for a suspension applicant from a country contiguous to the United States. The Board held that he had not shown true…
Frank Briscoe Company, Inc.
Construction citations partly upheld and partly vacated
Frank Briscoe was the general contractor for a multilevel building project where OSHA cited housekeeping, floor-opening, scaffold, ladder, fall-protection, and hard-hat conditions. The Commission vacated a general personal-protective-equipment item because OSHA did not identify or prove a feasible…
Matter of Dabaase
Proof required for Ghanaian customary divorce
A U.S. citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for her Ghanaian spouse. The District Director denied the petition because the record did not establish that his earlier Ghanaian customary marriage had legally ended. The Board agreed that photocopies of two letters attributed to his brother…
Republic Granite Company, Inc.
Silica-control citation vacated for lack of feasible controls
Republic Granite's monument-shaping process generated silica dust well above the permissible airborne limit. Its shaper wore an approved supplied-air respirator that the record found fully protected him from breathing the dust. OSHA argued that the company first had to use a ventilated shaping…
Wallace L. Boldt General Contractor, Inc.
Scaffold citation upheld with reduced penalty
An employee of Wallace L. Boldt worked on a narrow mobile-scaffold platform about 18 feet above a concrete floor without guardrails or toeboards. The judge found that the scaffold was under the general contractor's control and that its employee was exposed to a fall capable of causing serious…
Agrico Chemical Co.
One-sided runway guarding found insufficient
Agrico employees used elevated runways beside fertilizer conveyors and hopper-car tracks that were guarded on only one side. The runways were 40 to 49 inches wide and were used for operating, cleaning, checking, and maintaining the equipment. The judge agreed that they were special-purpose runways…
Edward Hines Lumber Co.
Mixed sawmill citations resolved with $510 penalty
OSHA cited Edward Hines Lumber after inspecting its large Oregon sawmill complex, alleging numerous machine-guarding, conveyor, walkway, ladder, and power-transmission violations. The judge vacated many items because the cited standards were advisory or inapplicable, the machinery was guarded by…
Southern Pacific Transportation Co.
Railroad exemption ruling reversed
Southern Pacific admitted ten alleged safety violations at a Houston railroad facility but argued that the railroad industry was outside OSHA's authority under the statutory exemption for working conditions regulated by another federal agency. The judge accepted that argument and vacated the…
Weyerhaeuser Company
Noise-standard ruling reversed and remanded
Weyerhaeuser's Honolulu corrugated-box plant exposed a single-facer operator to noise above the limits in OSHA's occupational-noise standard. The company required hearing protection and had investigated a range of engineering controls, while the judge vacated the citation after declaring § 1910.95…
Chopko Construction Company
Default affirmed after repeated nonresponse
Chopko Construction failed to answer the Secretary's complaint and did not respond to the chief judge's order to show cause, so the judge affirmed the citation and proposed penalty by default. The company later asked that its notice of contest be treated as its answer. The Commission directed…
Frank Briscoe Company, Inc.
Fall-protection item affirmed and ladder citation amended
Frank Briscoe employees worked near unguarded building edges, including one employee standing on a ladder beside the open third-floor perimeter without a tied-off safety belt. The Commission vacated the roof-edge citation under then-current precedent holding that § 1926.500(d)(1) did not apply to…
Cornell & Co., Inc.
Safety-belt citation affirmed for 100-foot steel work
Cornell employees bolted steel on a flare derrick 100 feet above ground without tying off their safety belts, and no floor or net would break a fall. Before the hearing, OSHA replaced inapplicable temporary-floor and safety-net allegations with a charge under the personal-protective-equipment and…
Stephenson Enterprises, Inc.
Eight plant-safety items reinstated
Stephenson Enterprises manufactured men's and boys' pants at a Georgia plant cited for several housekeeping, fire-protection, electrical, storage, machine-guarding, and sewing-machine conditions. The judge vacated the contested items after finding OSHA's evidence too conclusory. The Commission held…
Circle Industries Corp.
Unguarded-floor citation reinstated
Circle Industries was a carpentry subcontractor on a New York City apartment project where floor perimeters lacked guardrails. Its employees worked within five feet of those edges while installing door bucks, although the compliance officer did not see them exposed during the inspection. The…
Process Engineering, Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in these consolidated Process Engineering cases by referring to its decision in Francisco Tower Service. The short order did not address the underlying citation, standards, facts, or penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that two…
National Rolling Mills Co.
Open-pit item reduced to de minimis
National Rolling Mills operated a steel mill where an employee sometimes stepped across a 23-inch-wide pit to guide a coil onto a spindle. The Commission held that the open-pit standard applied because the coil buggy and tracks did not fully occupy the opening, and the standard itself presumed a…
Matter of Loulos
Exclusion hearing upheld after deportation from Costa Rica
A Greek citizen entered the United States as a crewman, remained unlawfully for over six years, then traveled to Costa Rica to seek an immigrant visa. Costa Rican authorities deported him back to the United States, where he arrived without a valid visa or travel document. He argued that his…
Wood Products Company
Timely oral contest accepted and case remanded
Wood Products Company orally told OSHA within the 15-working-day deadline that it intended to contest its citation and proposed penalties. The owner had several contacts with the area director, did not initially understand that the notice had to be written, and mailed written confirmation within no…
Utilities Line Construction Company, Inc.
Line-status violation affirmed, clearance item vacated
Utilities Line Construction was upgrading a Massachusetts power line when a journeyman lineman contacted a 2,400-volt line and was electrocuted. The crew had noticed the new line but did not determine whether it was energized, even though it could have checked within minutes. The Commission…
Brand Insulations, Inc.
Four construction violations and increased penalties affirmed
Brand Insulations supplied and installed insulation at an Ohio power-plant construction project. The violations involved debris outside a fabrication shop, materials obstructing narrow passageways, employees using a high runway plank with only a rope rail on one side, and employees working from…
Spector Freight System
Citation vacated after OSHA withdrew for lack of evidence
OSHA sought to withdraw its citation and complaint against Spector Freight System because it lacked enough evidence to carry its burden of proof. The judge treated OSHA's notice as a motion because the agency could not end the case unilaterally. He found no purpose in continuing once OSHA…
Matter of Silva
Permanent resident may seek section 212(c) relief without travel abroad
A Mexican citizen and longtime lawful permanent resident was found deportable after a federal marihuana conviction. The immigration judge denied his request for discretionary relief under section 212(c) because he had not traveled outside the United States after the conviction. Following the Second…
Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Co.; Stone & Webster Engineering Corp.; Dravo Corp.
Reactor-building citations vacated
The three contractors were building an 80-foot-wide, open-top reactor structure at the Shoreham Nuclear Power Station. OSHA cited them for bringing gas cylinders into a confined space, failing to provide ventilation for welding in a confined space, and lacking two means of egress. The judge found…
Penrod Drilling Company
General duty citation vacated over hazard recognition
Penrod employees were preparing to dismantle an oil derrick and worked from a girder about 125 feet above the ground without safety belts. One employee stepped onto the bridle assembly, the sling broke, and he fell to his death. OSHA alleged a serious general duty clause violation and proposed a…
Arvin Millwork Co.
No penalty assessed for alleged failure to abate
An earlier uncontested citation alleged that Arvin Millwork failed to guard a platform 30 feet above ground. OSHA later alleged that the company had failed to abate that condition and challenged several evidentiary rulings by the judge. During Commission review, however, OSHA expressly stated that…
Universal Terminal & Transport, a Division of Universal Maritime Service Corp.
Unsecured hatch-beam citation affirmed
Universal Terminal & Transport conducted longshoring work at the Port of New York beneath a one-ton hatch beam whose locking devices were broken. The company tied the beam with manila rope, but a crane cable snagged it and pulled it from its sockets, causing it to fall into the hatch and inflict…
Wichita Precision, Division of Wellman Industries, Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Wichita Precision case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority…
Communication Cable-Laying Co., Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Communication Cable-Laying case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the…
Grand Union Co.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Grand Union Store #1830 case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent states that the judge had vacated all…
Wildman Logging Company
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Wildman Logging case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority…
Hawthorne Steel Co.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Hawthorne Steel case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority…
Dan J. Brutger, Inc
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Dan J. Brutger case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, citation result, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran dissented, arguing that the majority could…
Matter of Concepcion
Nonexistent earlier marriage did not trigger petition bar
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for his spouse, whose earlier visa petition had been approved using documents for a marriage that never occurred. The District Director denied the new petition under the statutory bar for a prior marriage entered into to evade immigration law. The Board held…
Williams Enterprises, Inc.
Counterweight case reversed and remanded
Williams Enterprises was assembling a crane for a Library of Congress construction project when a 43,000-pound counterweight left standing on an inclined street toppled into a second counterweight. The two weights trapped and killed a foreman and an oiler. OSHA alleged a willful general duty clause…
Ted Breihan dba Ted Breihan Electric
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Ted Breihan Electric case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The release says the judge assessed no penalty, but it does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, or citation disposition. Commissioner Moran dissented…
Matter of Cintron
Petitioner could withdraw a visa petition before decision
A United States citizen filed a visa petition for his spouse, then sent the District Director a letter withdrawing it. The Director acknowledged the letter but denied the petition anyway. The Board held that a petitioner may withdraw a petition before a decision has been made. It sustained the…
Champlin Petroleum Co.
Flat-roof citation vacated
A Champlin employee worked at the edge of a service-station roof while removing a sign without a safety line or safety belt. OSHA cited Champlin for a serious violation of the construction perimeter-guarding standard, and the judge affirmed that item. The Commission vacated the citation because its…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and 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.