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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Lidstrom, Inc.
Crane power-line clearance violation affirmed
Lidstrom leased a crane and its operator to another company for moving concrete pipe near energized power lines. The crane came within ten feet of the lines, and an employee of the lessee who was attaching the hook to pipe was electrocuted. The Commission held that Lidstrom remained the crane…
Matter of Bulos
Border search and passport evidence supported deportability
Immigration officers obtained the respondent's Argentine passport during a routine search of a suitcase his U.S. citizen friend carried across the Canadian border. The Board upheld the search and found that the passport, the respondent's presence in the United States, and his failure to deny that…
Graven Brothers and Company
Excavation violations reclassified as nonserious
Graven Brothers excavated a seven-foot-deep pit in sandy clay without adequate shoring, bracing, or sloping. A spoil pile about five feet high was within two feet of one wall, and a 9,000-pound truck operated next to another wall without added support. The Commission found that an employee in the…
Matter of Medina
Illinois aggravated assault conviction supported deportability
A Mexican citizen appealed an immigration judge's deportation order and denial of discretionary relief. He acknowledged a 1953 attempted burglary conviction but argued that his 1971 Illinois aggravated assault conviction did not involve moral turpitude. The Board held that Illinois aggravated…
Harold Christiansen and Harold W. Christiansen, d/b/a Palmer Christiansen Company
Ungrounded power-tool violation affirmed
Palmer Christiansen performed sheet-metal work at a Salt Lake City construction site. OSHA found a portable electric drill and chipping hammer in the company's gang box with their grounding prongs broken or cut off. The tools were available for employees to use in installing ductwork, although the…
Matter of Samarius Industries, Inc.
Temporary trainer petition approved
A maker of stained glass lamps petitioned to employ an Ecuadorian glass bender for one year to train two United States workers. The district director denied the temporary worker petition because the company had not shown the services were temporary. The Regional Commissioner found that the proposed…
Bechtel Power Corporation
Construction-manager safety violations affirmed
Bechtel managed construction of a Missouri power plant but did not perform craft labor. Its engineers, timekeepers, safety representatives, and other employees regularly worked throughout the construction site. The Commission held that this management and inspection work was directly tied to…
Matter of Blas
Visa application omissions outweigh family ties in adjustment request
A visitor from the Philippines stayed beyond his visa and applied for permanent resident status after marrying a United States citizen. The Attorney General found that his visa application had concealed plans and circumstances that could have affected the decision to admit him, although the…
Star Circle Wall Systems, Inc.
Three site-hazard items affirmed, four vacated
Star Circle Wall Systems worked on a New York City construction project where debris obstructed work areas and stairways and materials were dropped more than 20 feet without an enclosed chute. The judge found that the company's employees worked throughout the buildings and were exposed to those…
Chief Freight Lines, Inc.
Safety-shoe requirement affirmed
Chief Freight Lines operated a Tulsa terminal where about 80 dock employees handled freight ranging from light boxes to 350-pound drums, pipe, vehicle parts, and oil-field equipment. Freight sometimes fell from stacks, carts, or trailers, and several employees had suffered foot or toe injuries. The…
Crane Company
Lead and silica exposure items affirmed
Crane Company manufactured valves and plumbing fixtures at a Tennessee foundry. Sampling showed employees were exposed to lead and silica dust above permissible limits, and the judge found that feasible industry technology existed to control those exposures. The company also lacked written…
Stowe Canoe Company
Twenty-one safety items affirmed
Stowe Canoe operated a small Vermont canoe-manufacturing facility. OSHA cited 22 conditions involving machine guarding, eye protection, flammable-liquid handling, fire extinguishers, compressed air, electrical equipment, aisle marking, and injury-record posting. The judge affirmed the first 21…
Matter of Guzman
Absentee Dominican divorce did not support New Jersey marriage
A U.S. citizen sought immediate relative status for her Dominican husband after his earlier mutual consent divorce in the Dominican Republic. Neither spouse in that divorce appeared before the Dominican court, and the record was unclear about where they lived. The Board found that if they lived in…
Matter of Ducret
Judge may consider retroactive reentry permission on the sole charge
A Venezuelan national left the United States after a deportation order and later returned without permission to reapply for admission. The government charged him only with being inadmissible on that basis. An immigration judge said he lacked authority to grant retroactive permission because the…
Matter of Pichardo and Brugman
One foreign spouse qualified for Dominican divorce exception
A U.S. citizen petitioned for immediate relative status for his wife and stepson. The district director denied the petitions because the man's prior Dominican mutual consent divorce was pronounced on the same day as the judgment. The Board held that the Dominican exception to the waiting period…
The Singer Company-Furniture Division
Polyester-line noise violations affirmed as nonserious
Singer operated a furniture plant in Toccoa, Georgia, with a polyester fill line added after an earlier plant-wide noise citation. One operator worked about six hours near equipment producing a 94 dBA sound level and was not using hearing protection. The judge found that feasible changes could…
Advance Specialty Company, Inc.
Cyanide-gas and guarding violations affirmed
Advance Specialty fabricated wire parts at a worksite shared with Platers and Coaters, an affiliated plating operation under common ownership and management. An employee of each company died when an inexperienced worker mixed acid salts with sodium cyanide and produced hydrogen cyanide gas. Advance…
Matter of Loo
Former citizen seaman could receive suspension of deportation
A Chinese national had entered the United States under a court judgment declaring him a U.S. citizen. Years later he worked as a seaman, made trips abroad, and returned as a citizen before acknowledging that he was an alien. An immigration judge held that his seaman entries barred him from…
Matter of Reczynski
District director must decide whether bond was breached
A Polish visitor challenged a condition of his $1,500 immigration bond that barred work without agency permission. After he admitted working, the immigration judge concluded that the bond had been breached and that he could no longer review the condition. The Board held that the district director…
Matter of Tagle
Dominican mutual consent divorce needed no waiting period
A U.S. citizen sought immediate relative status for her spouse, whose earlier marriage had ended through a mutual consent divorce in the Dominican Republic. The district director denied the petition because the divorce was pronounced the same day as the judgment. The Board reviewed a fuller…
Apex Glass & Sash, Inc., d/b/a Acme Glass Company
Radial-saw guarding violation affirmed
Acme Glass used a 12-inch radial arm saw to cut aluminum window-framing tubing. The upper half of the blade was covered, but up to six inches of the lower blade remained exposed while operators stood in front of the blade and held tubing about six inches away. The Commission held that the normal…
Matter of Li Ganoza
More proof was needed for a Mexican divorce
A New York resident petitioned for immediate relative status for his second wife. The district director denied the petition because the validity of his Mexican divorce from his first wife was unresolved. The Board explained that New York recognition required personal appearance by the petitioning…
Sweetman Construction Company
Scraper seat-belt violation affirmed
A scraper operator was killed after two earth-moving vehicles collided, which prompted OSHA to inspect Sweetman Construction's highway project. The record did not establish whether that employee had been wearing a seat belt before the accident, so no violation was found from the fatal incident…
Jones Oregon Stevedoring Company
Crosscut-saw guarding violation affirmed
Jones Oregon Stevedoring kept a circular crosscut table saw in its Coos Bay gear locker without the required blade hood. The company admitted the saw was not guarded but argued that the woodworking standard was invalid because OSHA omitted a headnote from the underlying ANSI material. The…
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co., Inc.
Meatcutter mesh-glove citation vacated
A&P did not require retail meatcutters to wear wire-mesh gloves on the noncutting hand while boning beef and veal. The cited personal-protective-equipment standard did not specifically mention mesh gloves or retail meat boning. Evidence showed that such gloves were rarely used in the industry and…
Matson Terminals, Inc.
Longshoring footwear citation vacated
Matson employees lashed cargo containers aboard the SS MATSONIA. OSHA observed two lashing employees wearing tennis or canvas shoes and cited Matson under the general personal-protective-equipment standard. The Commission held that the specific longshoring footwear standard controlled instead. That…
Matter of Seren
Immigration judge must decide venue after hearing begins
A respondent in a pending deportation hearing asked to move the hearing from Buffalo to New York City. The district director denied the request, and the immigration judge said he lacked authority to rule on it. The Board held that once the hearing began, authority over venue rested with the…
Collator Corporation
Press-brake subitems vacated and remaining citation affirmed
Collator Corporation manufactured collating machines at a Seattle plant. Its notice of contest referred only to the proposed penalties, but its answer and statements at the hearing showed that it also intended to contest two press-brake guarding subitems. The Commission therefore treated those…
Reynolds Metals Company
Noise-control citation vacated for lack of feasible controls
Reynolds Metals operated a can-manufacturing plant where employees worked near six production lines containing 126 pieces of equipment. OSHA's spot measurements showed noise levels from 92 to 105 dBA, and the Commission found that the excessive noise continued during the employees' exposure…
K & T Steel Corporation
Machine-guarding citation affirmed for three unguarded machines
K & T Steel fabricated structural steel, reinforcing bar, and tanks. OSHA cited the company because an ironworker, hydraulic press brake, and plate rolling machine lacked point-of-operation guards. K & T admitted the ironworker violation but contested the other two machines. The Commission held…
Lloyd C. Lockrem, Inc.
Mobile-equipment trench item revived and remanded
Lloyd C. Lockrem installed an underground concrete sewer line in a ground cavity that qualified as a trench. A front-end loader backfilled the cavity with its front wheels as close as 1.5 feet from the edge, and no stop logs or barricades were installed. The judge vacated the cited excavation…
Electrical Contractor Associates, Inc.
Shaft and roof-edge guarding citations affirmed
Electrical Contractor Associates was an electrical subcontractor at a building project in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Its employees worked near a mechanical shaft that lacked toeboards and was partly unguarded, and near an unguarded roof edge 48 feet above the ground. The judge affirmed two nonserious…
Okland Construction Company
Fall-protection citation affirmed for work on wall forms
Okland employees assembled wall forms for concrete placement at a power-station project. One employee died after falling 15 to 18 feet while installing a horizontal 2-by-4 waler without wearing a safety belt. Although no direct evidence established where he stood when he fell, the judge inferred…
Haybuster Manufacturing Company
Failure-to-abate ruling affirmed after court remand
Haybuster did not contest an initial citation, which became a final order requiring abatement. OSHA reinspected before the 15-working-day contest period expired and found four conditions uncorrected. A judge found failures to abate but reduced three of the four proposed additional penalties. The…
Matter of De La Cruz
Texas probation order did not impose a prison sentence
A Texas court found a respondent guilty of burglary, assessed three years of confinement, and then suspended imposition of sentence while granting probation. The immigration judge terminated deportation proceedings because the government had not proved a sentence to at least one year of…
Dobson Brothers Construction Co.
Repeated spoil-pile violation affirmed and penalty reduced
Dobson Brothers laid pipe in a trench in Lincoln, Nebraska. OSHA alleged that the trench lacked adequate support in soft or unstable soil and that excavated material was stored within two feet of the trench edge. The Commission agreed with the judge that OSHA's expert evidence did not prove the…
W. J. Barney Corporation
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the W. J. Barney Corporation case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The attached judge's decision concerned a construction manager whose employees regularly inspected and traversed a construction site. The judge found the company subject to…
Walsh Construction Company
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Walsh Construction Company case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace conditions, judge's disposition, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent argues that…
Fischbach & Moore, Incorporated
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Fischbach & Moore case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The attached judge's decision involved an employee welding from outside a scaffold 18 feet above ground without a safety belt or lifeline, and welding zinc-bearing material without…
Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company; Thorofare Markets, Inc.
Mesh-glove citations vacated
A&P and Thorofare Markets employed retail-store butchers who trimmed and boned meat, poultry, and fish without required wire-mesh gloves. The judge affirmed citations under the general personal-protective-equipment standard. Applying its Grand Union decision, the Commission held that the general…
Abbott-Sommer, Inc.
Roofing citations mostly affirmed without merits review
Abbott-Sommer was a roofing subcontractor working on a flat roof in Totowa, New Jersey. The judge vacated an item alleging inadequate potable water but affirmed items involving head protection during slag hoisting, an enclosed debris chute, perimeter guarding, and fall-protection equipment for an…
Mohawk Excavating, Inc.; Desarrollos Metropolitanos, Inc.; Texaco, Inc.
Review directions vacated
The Commission vacated directions for review in three cases involving Mohawk Excavating, Desarrollos Metropolitanos, and Texaco. It held that Commissioner Moran's directions did not grant the respondents' petitions for discretionary review and were the type rejected in Francisco Tower Service…
Southwest Filter Company; Bethlehem Steel Corporation; Borders Electric Company, Inc.; Grand Union Company; Henry Carlson Company
Review directions vacated
The Commission vacated directions for review in five cases involving Southwest Filter Company, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Borders Electric Company, Grand Union Company, and Henry Carlson Company. It referred to Francisco Tower Service and did not identify the underlying standards, workplace…
Raymond J. Pitts, Inc.; Millstone Erectors
Review directions vacated
The Commission vacated directions for review in cases involving Raymond J. Pitts and Millstone Erectors. It held that the directions failed to specify the issues for review and were contrary to the Administrative Procedure Act's intent and Commission policy. The official release does not identify…
L.G. Barcus & Sons, Incorporated
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the L.G. Barcus & Sons case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, judge's disposition, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent argues that canceling…
Joseph Ambrozaitis
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Joseph Ambrozaitis case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, judge's disposition, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent argues that canceling…
J.R. Simplot Co., d/b/a Simplot Soilbuilders
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the J.R. Simplot 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 the contested…
Seattle Stevedore Company
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Seattle Stevedore Company case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, judge's disposition, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent argues that…
Kawneer Company, Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Kawneer Company 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 the contested…
Everett Stevedoring Company
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Everett Stevedoring Company case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, judge's disposition, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent argues that…
Texas Window Cleaning Company
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Texas Window Cleaning Company case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The attached judge's decision involved two experienced employees who cleaned fifth- and sixth-floor hospital windows while standing on a 20-inch ledge without safety…
Kroger, Incorporated; Louisiana Paving Company; J. L. Price, d/b/a Price Cabinet Shop; Central Ohio Distributing Company
Review directions vacated
The Commission vacated directions for review in four cases involving Kroger, Louisiana Paving Company, Price Cabinet Shop, and Central Ohio Distributing Company. It referred to Francisco Tower Service and did not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, or penalty amounts. Commissioner…
Harris Structural Steel Co., Inc.
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Harris Structural Steel case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, judge's disposition, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent argues that…
George W. Rogers Construction Corporation
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the George W. Rogers Construction Corporation case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The official release does not identify the underlying standards, workplace facts, judge's disposition, or proposed penalties. Commissioner Moran's dissent…
Port Chester Electric Construction Company, Incorporated
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Port Chester Electric case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The attached judge's decision involved two electrical employees working near an unguarded elevator shaft opening with a 65- to 70-foot drop, and an employee using acetylene…
Matter of Takayanagi
Salon stock did not qualify a hairdresser as an investor
A Japanese national who had overstayed and worked as a hairdresser sought adjustment of status through an investor exemption. He claimed to have invested $10,000 in stock of the salon where he worked after attempts to obtain labor certification failed. The Board found little evidence of an actual…
Matter of McQuaide
Child's intervention in deportation case was denied
A Greek visitor conceded that she had overstayed her admission. On appeal, she challenged the denial of her U.S. citizen child's motion to intervene and the 30 days allowed for voluntary departure. A divorce decree gave her custody of the child in the United States during three months each year…
Matter of Dela Cruz
Hawaii adoption decrees did not establish child status
A U.S. citizen sought immediate relative status for two boys living in the Philippines, relying on Hawaii adoption decrees. The Board found that the boys had never been in the United States, and the decrees did not establish that the Hawaii court had jurisdiction over them. Their adoption also…
Techno Products, Inc., d/b/a Techno Truck Manufacturing Co.
Locked-exit failure affirmed and extinguisher failure vacated
Techno manufactured trucks at a plant with a spray-paint booth and about 15 employees. OSHA alleged that the company failed to abate an inadequate supply of fire extinguishers near the booth and a locked rear exit. The Commission held that the extinguisher rule was not vague when read with the…
D. Federico Company, Inc.
Willful cave-in and spoil-pile citations affirmed
D. Federico had an employee working in a Boston earth cavity where the working depth was about 6.5 feet. The walls were not sloped, shored, sheeted, or braced, a large overhang stood about three feet from the employee, and excavated material was piled within inches of the wall. The judge vacated…
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.