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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Federal Glass Co.
Employee notice required for noise settlement
Federal Glass withdrew its contest after the Secretary agreed to extend the abatement date for a workplace-noise citation from July 1974 to December 1975. The Commission treated the linked motions as a settlement because the company received a material benefit from the extended deadline. The unions…
The Federal Glass Company
Employee notice required for noise settlement
Federal Glass withdrew its contest after the Secretary agreed to extend the abatement date for a workplace-noise citation from July 1974 to December 1975. The Commission treated the linked motions as a settlement because the company received a material benefit from the extended deadline. The unions…
Matter of Kwong
Sibling visa petition denied under Hong Kong law
A United States citizen petitioned for fifth preference immigrant status for a man born to her father and his concubine in Hong Kong. The Board applied Hong Kong law to decide whether he was her legitimate brother. It held that a concubine had lawful status as a tsip only if she entered the…
Garcia Concrete, Inc.
Unqualified-loader violation affirmed and penalty reduced
A 17-year-old laborer who had only driven a front-end loader in the company yard was directed by a crew lead to move it about two miles on public roads. The company president had stopped the worker's equipment training and instructed him not to operate the loader, but had not told crew leaders…
Layton Roofing Company, Inc.
Flat-roof guardrail citation and $300 penalty affirmed
Layton Roofing employees worked on a flat concrete roof more than 16 feet above the ground without perimeter guardrails. An employee had fallen from the roof and died the day before OSHA's inspection. The judge held that the open-sided-floor standard did not apply to flat roofs, but the Commission…
Edward M. Ream, Inc.
Flat-roof fall citation vacated
Employees installed roofing on a flat, solid-surfaced roof more than 100 feet above the ground without perimeter railings, nets, or personal fall protection. An employee had previously fallen from the roof and died. The judge held that the cited safety-net and personal-protective-equipment…
Norrwock Shoe Company, Div. of SCOA Industries, Inc.
Citation dismissed for lack of evidence
The Secretary moved to dismiss the citation and complaint for lack of evidence, and the judge granted the motion. On review, the Commission asked whether affected employees had received notice. The company then certified that it posted the dismissal motion, the judge's order, and the direction for…
Hanovia Lamp Division, Canrad Precision Industries, Inc.
High-voltage general-duty citation vacated
On remand from the Third Circuit, the Commission considered whether Hanovia should have required two-person teams for high-voltage laboratory testing. The Secretary's expert said many major companies used that practice, but the evidence also showed that laboratories varied their approach depending…
Sierra Permaneer
Settlement approved after union service completed
The parties settled a 27-item nonserious citation through penalty reductions, extended abatement dates, amendment of one cited standard, vacation of items 4, 14, and 23, and withdrawal of the company's contest to the remaining disputed items. Review initially focused on whether posting alone…
Canton Elevator & Manufacturing Co.
Settlement and $150 penalty affirmed
Canton Elevator contested only the proposed penalties. The Secretary agreed to reduce two $100 penalties to $50 each, producing a total settlement penalty of $150, and the company withdrew its contest. The Commission affirmed the settlement under precedent holding that workplace posting gave…
C & R Cabinet Company
Failure-to-abate and posting penalties assessed
A follow-up inspection found six unabated machine-guarding violations involving ripsaws, radial saws, sanders, and a conveyor. C & R Cabinet had corrected seven other items and had ordered some missing guard parts, so the judge reduced the proposed $1,675 failure-to-abate penalty to $825. The…
Matter of Neto/Domingos
Genuine marriage rebutted visa fraud presumption
A Brazilian citizen received an immigrant visa through marriage to a United States citizen. They separated before he obtained the visa and divorced within two years of his entry, which triggered a statutory presumption that he had married to evade immigration law. The Board found that their shared…
Matter of Neill
Engineer's regular client work was outside business visitor status
A Canadian mechanical engineer made frequent trips to serve clients in the United States. An immigration judge admitted him as a temporary business visitor. The Board held that most of his time in the country was spent performing professional engineering services, with only a small part spent…
Matter of Ozcan
Adjustment denied and voluntary departure order modified
A Turkish citizen applied for permanent resident status using a labor certification as a diesel mechanic. The Board found that he had misstated or materially overstated his work experience and had shown no favorable factors sufficient to justify adjustment as a matter of discretion. It dismissed…
Matter of Bhegani
Customary guardianship did not establish legal adoption
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for a second preference immigrant visa for a young man he had raised as his customary ward in Uganda. The Board held that the petitioner had to establish a legal adoption under the Immigration and Nationality Act. A Library of Congress report stated that…
Matter of You Fu Wang
Short deportation order required remand
An immigration judge ordered a respondent deported and denied his request for voluntary departure using a short form order. The form said the respondent had made no application for relief, although the record showed that he had requested voluntary departure to earn money for his trip. The Board…
Matter of Blaich
Religious teaching qualified for blanket labor certification
A husband and wife sought adjustment to permanent residence after the district director denied their applications for lack of labor certification. The husband taught religious subjects at a synagogue and a Hebrew high school for a combined 40 hours each week. The Regional Commissioner found that…
Alcap Electrical Corp.
Subcontractor citations affirmed for employee exposure
Alcap Electrical was an electrical subcontractor at a building project where employees encountered unguarded floor openings, unguarded stairs, unsecured gas cylinders, and other construction hazards. Alcap argued that it did not create or control the hazardous conditions. The Commission held that a…
R. P. Drywall, Inc.
Citation withdrawal conditioned on employee notice
R. P. Drywall installed drywall on construction and reconstruction projects in Miami. OSHA cited the company over the condition and inspection of hand-held electric tools and extension cords, but later sought to dismiss the complaint and withdraw the citation because it lacked sufficient evidence…
Carling Electric, Inc.
Settlement affirmed after employee-service issue became moot
Carling Electric contested one item of a non-serious citation carrying a proposed $40 penalty. The parties settled by extending the item's abatement date to November 1, 1974, and asking that the citation and penalty be affirmed. The record did not show that affected employees received the…
Kisco Company, Inc.
Welding equipment citation vacated for lack of proof
Kisco fabricated coil and sheet metal products at a Missouri plant. OSHA cited the company after a maintenance electrician was fatally shocked while repairing a side seam welding machine, alleging violations involving its disconnect switch and maintenance practices. The judge found that the switch…
Matter of Ah San
Child of United States national admitted with second preference visa
A fourteen year old citizen of Western Samoa sought admission with a second preference immigrant visa obtained through her mother, a United States national born in American Samoa. The Immigration Service challenged the visa because her mother had not resided in the United States. The immigration…
Hartwell Excavating Co.
Mixed ruling on blasting, equipment, and noise items
Hartwell Excavating was cited for eight nonserious violations involving explosives, equipment guards and alarms, and occupational noise at an Idaho sewer project. The Secretary moved to withdraw citation items 1 through 4 after the judge's decision. The Commission allowed withdrawal of items 2…
Donovan's Blacktop, Inc.
Settlement affirms citations and reduces penalties
Donovan's Blacktop faced citations from inspections of its garage and two Massachusetts construction sites. The cited conditions included poor housekeeping, improper electrical grounding, an unsupported trench, missing eye protection, and gasoline carried in an unapproved container. The parties…
Allstate Trailer Sales, Inc.
Penalties reassessed after citations became final
Allstate Trailer Sales manufactured recreational vehicles at a Seattle plant. OSHA issued a serious citation involving unguarded saws and an eleven-item nonserious citation covering posting, recordkeeping, machine guarding, electrical grounding, and eye protection. Allstate's timely notice…
Matter of Romero
Spouse petition denied after identity remained unproved
A woman claiming United States citizenship through birth in Puerto Rico sought immediate relative status for her spouse. Separate interviews produced discrepancies, and she could not show that she was the person named on the birth certificate she submitted. The immigration service requested…
Garland Call Pole Co.
Two final violations restored and one item vacated
Garland Call Pole operated a small Idaho pole yard where OSHA cited unguarded debarker components, flammable liquids near welding and cutting equipment, and inadequate protection for a debarker operator. Garland timely contested only the penalties for the first two violations, then attempted to…
Laminating Services
Failure-to-abate penalties reduced to $400
Laminating Services manufactured wood and vinyl wall covering at a Kentucky plant. It did not timely correct final citation items involving unguarded machine points of operation and unguarded sprocket wheels and chains. The company sought an extension only after the abatement deadline, and the…
Matter of Munguia
Missing immigrant visas left spouses outside fraud waiver
A married couple from Mexico appealed deportation orders based on their lack of valid immigrant visas at entry. The husband had entered by claiming United States citizenship, and the wife appeared to have entered either by a similar claim or with someone else's border crossing card. They argued…
Robert E. Lee Plumbers, Inc.
Exposing subcontractor held liable for site hazards
Robert E. Lee Plumbers was the plumbing subcontractor on a project involving four six-story residential buildings. Its employees had to move throughout the site and were exposed to debris, unguarded wall openings, and stairways without railings. The Commission held that the company could be cited…
Consolidated Pine, Inc.
Settlement preserves repeated classification
Consolidated Pine contested a $90 repeated violation involving a work platform and a willful-serious violation involving unguarded trim saws. The parties settled by reclassifying the saw violation as serious, reducing its proposed penalty from $5,400 to $1,000, and allowing the company to withdraw…
Petrolane Offshore Construction Services, Inc.
Maritime work citations affirmed under OSHA coverage
Petrolane performed offshore construction and ship repair work at a Louisiana site, including conversion of a barge and sandblasting a drilling-platform structure. OSHA issued seventeen nonserious citation items covering recordkeeping, cranes, abrasive blasting, compressed-gas cylinders, scaffolds…
Paccar, Inc.
Press-brake guarding violation affirmed, tank-roll item vacated
Paccar used a tank roll machine and eight press brakes to form metal parts at a truck manufacturing facility. The Commission found that the press brakes lacked point-of-operation protection and that guards over their power-transmission components did not address that separate hazard. It held that…
Cooper Industries, Inc.
Spray-booth penalty restored to proposed amount
Cooper Industries operated a small Ohio metal fabrication, welding, and painting plant. The citation included items involving respirators, a dip-tank railing, a forklift horn, spray-booth ventilation, and combustible residue in a spray booth. On review, the Commission declined to decide whether the…
Matter of Marino
Italian amnesty did not remove adjustment bar
An Italian citizen appealed the denial of his application to adjust to permanent resident status. He had been convicted in Italy of fraudulent destruction of his own property, but argued that an Italian amnesty had ended his pending appeal and left the conviction without the finality needed for…
All United Rent
Trench citation vacated as unpreventable occurrence
All United Rent supplied a backhoe and an experienced operator for excavation of a sewer-connection trench in Utah. The trench was about 18 feet deep, had steep unsupported sides, and collapsed while the operator and two other workers were inside. OSHA cited the equipment lessor for failing to…
Horowitz Bross., Inc.
Serious trench citation vacated for lack of proof
Horowitz was laying water pipe in a trench that was about 88 feet long, roughly six feet deep, three feet wide at the bottom, and seven feet wide at the top. OSHA alleged that the trench violated the rule for hard or compact soil because it was not adequately shored or sloped. The Commission held…
Pollard, Inc.
Excavation citation affirmed and penalty reduced
Pollard installed concrete pipe in wet, sandy-clay excavations near a heavily traveled Utah highway. Two employees worked in excavations whose walls were not protected by shoring, adequate sloping, or another equivalent method. The Commission affirmed the violation because the employees were…
Isaacson Structural Steel Co.
Fall-protection citation vacated where cited methods were infeasible
Isaacson erected a structural-steel A-frame over water as part of a log deck at an Alaska paper mill. One employee worked at the top of the frame while two welders worked from a float scaffold, all more than 25 feet above the water. The Commission rejected the Secretary's late request to apply the…
Matter of Burgos
Arrest challenge did not defeat deportation findings
A husband and wife from El Salvador appealed findings that they had entered the United States without inspection and the denial of voluntary departure. They argued that evidence should have been suppressed because immigration officers arrested them unlawfully and that they should have been allowed…
Safeway Stores, Inc.
Wheel-chocking citations vacated on joint motion
Safeway received multiple nonserious citations for failing to block or chock truck wheels while powered industrial trucks boarded them. Safeway had raised but then waived a defense that Department of Transportation regulation displaced OSHA authority over the working conditions. After the…
F. F. Green Construction Co., Inc.
Serious trench citation and $900 penalty affirmed
F. F. Green installed a water main in an Alaska trench that was about eleven and a half feet deep in wet, sandy, unstable soil. At least two employees worked where the trench was not adequately shored or sloped, and the citation also included ladder-access and flammable-liquid-container items. The…
D.R. Johnson Lumber Company
Edger-guard charge vacated for lack of employer knowledge
D.R. Johnson operated a sawmill where an edger's power-transmission guard was removed and replaced several times during adjustment work. The edger was later operated while the guard and maintenance workers were absent, but the record did not show that company supervisors knew or reasonably could…
Adams & Mulberry Corp.
Trench violation reduced from willful to serious
Adams & Mulberry installed underground conduit in a narrow Louisville trench that was eight to ten feet deep, had vertical sides, and contained unstable soil and water. Two inexperienced employees entered beyond the completed shoring while positioning additional plywood sheets, and one employee was…
Weyerhaeuser Company
Life-jacket citation affirmed without penalty
Weyerhaeuser's boom men worked on logs, boom sticks, and walkways at a Washington log pond without wearing required buoyant devices. The company had supplied life jackets and encouraged their use, but most organized employees resisted wearing them and had previously stopped work over the issue. The…
Julius Nasso Concrete Corp.
Construction-site fire, floor-opening, and crane citations affirmed
Julius Nasso was a concrete contractor on a New York project involving three twelve-story buildings. OSHA cited inadequate firefighting equipment, unguarded floor openings, and an unbarricaded crane swing radius. The judge found that the available water equipment did not cover the required floor…
Park Construction Co.
Crane-lubrication citation affirmed under excavating standard
Park Construction used a crawler crane for excavation work while an employee lubricated its suspension system. The revolving superstructure remained in operation, and the employee was struck by the rear of the cab and died. The Commission held that the crane standard originally cited applied to…
Tobacco River Lumber Co.
Mixed ruling on thirty sawmill citation items
Tobacco River operated a Montana sawmill and planing mill that received a thirty-item citation covering housekeeping, stairs, protective equipment, fire safety, tools, gas cylinders, machinery, and electrical conditions. The Commission upheld the inspection because a company employee with authority…
Sheet Metal Specialty Co.
Press-brake guarding citation affirmed
Sheet Metal Specialty used a press brake to form metal ductwork in its Virginia fabrication shop. The operator and helper held sheets by hand with one hand as close as six to twelve inches from the unguarded point of operation. The Commission held that the general point-of-operation guarding…
Danco construction Company
Mixed ruling on sewer-work citations and penalties
Danco received consolidated citations from three Little Rock sewer-construction sites involving posting, hard hats, fire protection, fuel handling, trenching, electrical equipment, ladders, traffic visibility, and spoil placement. Commissioner Cleary viewed Danco's timely contest as placing the…
Wilmorite, Inc.
Construction citations withdrawn with prejudice
Wilmorite was adding six floors to an existing building in Syracuse, New York. OSHA cited an unguarded tenth-floor perimeter, a short ladder extension, unguarded floor and ladderway openings, and construction debris. The judge vacated the citations after finding, among other things, that the…
Garrison & Associates, Inc.
Press-brake guarding citation restored
Garrison custom-fabricated sheet metal with two press brakes whose points of operation were unguarded. An employee was observed forming a small piece with his hands close to the operating point, although holding tools were available for small pieces. The judge vacated the guarding item after…
Leon Marrano & Sons, Inc.
High-rise fall and head-protection citations affirmed
Leon Marrano was the concrete subcontractor on a nineteen-story apartment project in New York. Employees working with flying forms on the tenth floor moved around the forms by swinging partly over the building edge without safety belts or lifelines. The judge found that the company had not…
Matter of Duncan
Liberian legitimation supported son's visa petition
A lawful permanent resident from Liberia appealed the denial of a visa petition for his son, Maxwell Duncan. The district director had found that Maxwell did not qualify as a child because the petitioner had never married Maxwell's mother. The petitioner supplied a Liberian court order legitimating…
Island Steel & Welding, Ltd.
Safety-belt citation affirmed under protective-equipment rule
Island Steel assigned two employees to weld steel members while standing on top of a wall at heights of about sixteen to twenty-five feet. They had no safety belts or other fall-protection device, and the company superintendent knew they were working without belts. The Commission held that the…
General Electric Company, Inc.
Mixed ruling on extensive turbine-plant citations
OSHA issued General Electric numerous serious, nonserious, repeated, and willful citations after inspecting its Schenectady steam turbine and generator facilities. The Commission affirmed or restored violations involving ladder safety, portable tools, welder fall protection, housekeeping, fire…
Smith's Transfer Corporation
Wheel-chocking case remanded after summary dismissal
Smith's Transfer was cited for failing to chock the rear wheels of trucks or trailers while powered industrial trucks boarded them at a Pittsburgh facility. The company moved to dismiss on the ground that Department of Transportation regulations displaced OSHA authority over the working conditions…
Dravo Corp.
Toxic-paint spray citations vacated for lack of timely proof
Dravo manufactured and repaired river barges at a Pennsylvania boat yard. OSHA cited the company over respirators, hazard information, employee instruction, and protective clothing for workers allegedly spray painting Tectyl-400B in confined barge spaces. The judge found that the Secretary did not…
Matter of Ghunaim
Conviction record supported voluntary manslaughter finding
A Jordanian citizen appealed a deportation order based on an Ohio conviction for first degree manslaughter. Ohio's statute covered both voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, but only voluntary manslaughter was treated as a crime involving moral turpitude in this decision. The Board examined the…
Matter of Castillo-Pineda
Annulled marriage defeated returning resident claim
The applicant entered as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, but an Illinois court annulled the marriage for fraud shortly afterward. Following a short trip to Mexico, he sought admission as a returning permanent resident. The Board held that the annulment made the marriage void from the start, so the…
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.