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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Metals Selling Corporation, Inc.
Combustible-liquid cabinet item vacated
Metals Selling Corporation manufactured metallic chemicals and structures, with much of its business involving magnesium grinding. OSHA issued 20 nonserious items covering housekeeping, aisles, stairs, exits, gas cylinders, personal protective equipment, fire protection, machine guarding…
John J. Gordon Company
Judge's order affirmed after appellate remand
The Second Circuit remanded this matter to the Commission. In accordance with the court's order, the Commission affirmed Judge David H. Harris's May 5, 1972 order. This short release does not state the underlying citation, the applicable safety standard, the judge's reasoning, or any penalty result.
Morrison-Knudsen & Associates
Noise-exposure violations affirmed
Morrison-Knudsen was constructing antiballistic-missile facilities in North Dakota. Noise measurements described in the attached judge's decision ranged from 100 to 112 dBA, and employees performing grinding, impact-wrench, and air-arcing work were observed without hearing protection. Although the…
Home Supply Company; Al J. Schneider Company, Inc.; and Al J. Schneider and Associates, Inc.
Four high-rise fall hazards upheld
Home Supply Company and two Al J. Schneider companies operated as a joint enterprise while constructing the 24-story Louisville Trust Building. The Commission affirmed four serious general duty clause violations involving unguarded floor perimeters, elevator-shaft openings, stairway openings, and…
Matter of Kong
Later registered adoption missed age limit
A lawful permanent resident petitioned for a person she said she had adopted in Burma as her son. The family had performed a ceremonial Appatittha adoption when he was young, then registered a Kittima adoption when he was nearly 15. The Board found that the ceremonial form created only limited…
Matter of Holmes
Petitioner must see adverse evidence before denial
A United States citizen petitioned for his wife to receive immediate relative status. The District Director denied the petition after taking a statement from the wife that cast doubt on the marriage, but the record did not show that the petitioner had been told of the statement or given a chance to…
Fineberg Packing Company, Inc.
OSHA sanitation item reinstated despite USDA rules
Fineberg Packing, a meat processor, received a nine-item nonserious citation covering electrical, exit, fire-protection, housekeeping, sanitation, and ladder conditions. The judge vacated the sanitation item because Department of Agriculture rules under the Wholesome Meat Act also regulated plant…
The Murphy Company
Three failure-to-abate items upheld, two vacated
The Murphy Company operated an Oregon wood-veneer plant and did not contest an original citation containing 18 nonserious violations. A later reinspection led OSHA to allege failure to abate five items and failure to post the original citation. The Commission affirmed failure to abate the…
Matter of Merced
Temporary permission to stay did not prevent deportation proceedings
A married couple from the Philippines remained in the United States after their visitor stays expired. The District Director approved a visa petition for the husband and temporarily permitted him to remain, but later revoked that permission and began deportation proceedings against both spouses…
Matter of Yau
Crewman's landing permit supported deportation order
A Chinese crewman remained in the United States after his authorized shore leave ended. An immigration judge excluded his landing permit and related records because officers had not given him a Miranda warning, then ended the deportation case. The Board held that officers briefly detained him…
Matter of Samedi
California annulment supported rescission of adjustment
The respondent received permanent resident status through adjustment after marrying a United States citizen. A California court later annulled the marriage because of fraud alleged by his wife about his intention to have children. The immigration judge rescinded the adjustment, and the Board…
Yorba Linda Electric, Inc.
Electrical-proximity citation vacated for lack of proof
Yorba Linda Electric was extending a 480-volt electrical system at a Mobil Oil field when an employee working on a pole was found hanging limp from his safety belt and died. OSHA cited the company for allowing work close enough to an energized circuit for contact without effective protection. The…
Matter of Grewal
Fiancé visa petition denied because the couple had not met
A U.S. citizen petitioned for fiancé classification for a man in India. Her father had arranged their marriage according to a custom that did not permit the couple to meet before the wedding. The district director denied the petition because the petitioner had never personally met the beneficiary…
Matter of Zingis
Set-aside youth conviction no longer supported deportation
The respondent had been ordered deported after a District of Columbia narcotics conviction. A court later resentenced him under the Federal Youth Corrections Act, discharged him from probation, and set aside that conviction. The immigration judge then ended deportation proceedings, and the Board…
Painting Unlimited, Inc.
Unsafe access upheld, ladder side-rail item vacated
Painting Unlimited was spray-painting bridge girders from a scaffold more than 40 feet above the ground. Employees had to hoist themselves about four feet from the scaffold to the girder because no suitable ladder, stairway, ramp, or runway provided safe access. The Commission affirmed that access…
Matter of Sepulveda
Citizenship claim did not justify reopening deportation case
A man born in Mexico to a United States citizen mother and a Mexican father sought to reopen his deportation case by claiming United States citizenship. The immigration judge denied reopening, and the Board dismissed his appeal. The Board held that the citizenship law in force at his birth required…
Owens-Illinois, Inc., Lily Tulip Division
Noise-abatement settlement approved conditionally
Owens-Illinois contested only the abatement period for a noise-control item under 29 C.F.R. § 1910.95(b)(1). The company and the Secretary stipulated to extend the abatement date from May 22, 1974, to May 22, 1976, and the company moved to withdraw its contest. The Commission treated the…
The Budd Co.
Foot-protection and fuel-cylinder citations affirmed
The Budd Company operated two manufacturing plants where some employees lacked required toe protection and workers used acetylene cylinders with their valve ends raised only 30 to 45 degrees above horizontal. The Commission allowed Budd to withdraw its contests to the foot-protection items and held…
Matter of Hernandez
Attorney General rejected citizenship finding and remanded
A woman born in Mexico claimed United States citizenship through her U.S. citizen mother. The Board found that her parents' informal relationship was not a marriage under Mexican law, making her eligible for citizenship under the 1940 nationality rule for a child born outside marriage. On referral…
Matter of Patel
Student exemption applied to adjustment filing and case remanded
An Indian student applied to adjust to permanent resident status without a labor certification. The district director denied the application after a regulation revoking the student exemption took effect. A court later held that revocation ineffective because it had been adopted without notice, and…
DIC-Underhill, A Joint Venture
Open-floor citation affirmed and storage item vacated
DIC-Underhill was constructing high-rise housing where employees worked on open-sided upper floors without perimeter railings or personal fall protection. The judge found a serious violation because five employees were exposed on three floors and a fall could have grave consequences. He assessed…
Matter of Vrettakos
Immigration judge lacked authority to grant readmission permission
A Greek crewman was found deportable after entering the United States following refusal of temporary landing permission. The immigration judge also granted him retroactive permission to reapply for admission after deportation. On the Service's appeal, the Board set aside that grant because it could…
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Co.
Noise citation affirmed without a penalty
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric operated a generating station where boiler-room sound readings reached 97 to 103 dBA. The utility had supplied ear protection and was pursuing an engineering solution, but the judge found that it did not consistently require employees to use the protection. The…
CAM Industries, Inc.
Confined-space welding ventilation item reinstated
CAM Industries fabricated steel products and received a multi-item citation covering electrical, welding, housekeeping, eye protection, crane, platform, and recordkeeping conditions. During OSHA's inspection, an employee was welding inside a roughly 100-cubic-foot tank while an available exhaust…
Matter of Mladineo
Unsupported persecution claim did not reopen deportation case
An immigration judge found the respondent deportable and granted voluntary departure. The Board dismissed her first appeal as untimely, leaving the judge's ruling undisturbed. She later sought to reopen the case to apply for withholding of deportation to Chile. The Board took the request on…
Matter of Harutunian
Public charge finding upheld an adjustment denial
A stateless woman who had entered the United States on parole applied for permanent residence. She received California old age assistance and had no apparent means of supporting herself. Her lawyer argued that the aid did not create a repayment debt, invoking a rule for deporting someone who had…
Modern Automotive Service, Inc.
Foot-protection item affirmed and first-aid item vacated
Modern Automotive serviced and repaired trucks, and its employees manually handled tools, parts, and materials weighing as much as 60 pounds. The company had experienced toe injuries over five years, and its safety director acknowledged that foot protection would have prevented some of them. The…
Beall Construction Co.
Construction penalties reduced to $620
Beall Construction was the general contractor on a 12-story building project and faced serious, other-than-serious, and failure-to-abate allegations with proposed penalties totaling $35,442. The Commission adopted the judge's mixed disposition of the citations, including a serious violation for a…
Daniel Rubin Painting Corp.
Notice of contest dismissed after unanswered complaint
Daniel Rubin Painting did not file an answer after receiving the Secretary's complaint and a warning that its notice of contest could be dismissed. The judge dismissed the contest under the Commission's procedural rules. Although the Secretary's dismissal motion lacked the required formal proof of…
Matter of Udagawa
Tempura chef did not qualify as treaty investor employee
A Japanese corporation sought to employ a tempura chef at its San Francisco restaurant to cook and train American workers. The chef arrived with a treaty investor visa, but an immigration judge found him excludable. The Board dismissed his appeal. It held that the planned job did not place him in a…
Eckerd's Tri-Roads, Inc.
Four-item citation vacated with prejudice
Eckerd's Tri-Roads, a retail drug store, received a four-item citation covering the OSHA poster, annual injury and illness summary, fire-extinguisher mounting, and housekeeping. The judge affirmed all four items, assessed $50 for the poster item, and vacated a proposed $100 penalty for the…
Florida East Coast Properties, Inc.
Settlement cuts one penalty but retains serious classification
Florida East Coast Properties received two serious construction citations and several other-than-serious items, but contested only the proposed penalties. In a settlement, the Secretary agreed that the evidence could not sustain the serious classification for an open-sided-floor item and proposed…
Sunpruf Aluminum Products, Inc.
Eight safety items affirmed without penalties
Sunpruf manufactured aluminum storm windows and doors at a Nashville plant with about 30 employees. OSHA cited conditions involving electrical boxes, compressed air, respiratory and welding protection, personal protective equipment, first aid, housekeeping, and aisle marking. The Secretary withdrew…
Lundell Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Gasoline vent classified as serious with a $25 penalty
Lundell Manufacturing had an underground gasoline tank whose vent ended 6 feet 7 inches above the ground instead of the required 12 feet. The vent was outside, about 75 feet from the building, protected by a guard and fence, and away from regular employee work, and the company had it extended…
Matter of Fortis
Accepted no contest plea supported deportation order
An immigration judge ordered the respondent deported to El Salvador after a California marijuana possession conviction. The respondent appealed, arguing that his no contest plea did not count as a conviction under the deportation statute. The Board rejected that argument and upheld the judge's…
Matter of Heitland
Delivery business did not qualify for investor exemption
A husband and wife sought permanent residence after entering the United States as nonimmigrants. The husband operated a delivery service and argued that his investment exempted him from the labor certification requirement. The Board counted his truck and radio, valued at $3,400, but excluded a…
Dore Wrecking Co.
Eye-protection item vacated and two penalties reduced
Dore Wrecking was demolishing a building with its own employees and specialized subcontractors. The Commission vacated an eye-protection item because the unprotected drill operator worked for a subcontractor, Dore did not control him, and no Dore employee was shown to be exposed to the condition…
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.
Fire-equipment citation vacated for issuance delay
A Chicago Bridge & Iron employee was welding on top of a chemical tank at least 80 feet above ground when his clothing caught fire and he was fatally injured. OSHA inspected six days later and cited the company for failing to have suitable fire-extinguishing equipment immediately available…
Crone Lumber Co.
Citation affirmed after employer accepted late-answer ruling
Crone Lumber filed its answer to the Secretary's complaint late. The judge found no mitigating circumstances, struck the answer, and affirmed the complaint, citation, and proposed penalties. After review was directed, the company's counsel advised that it had sent the $50 penalty payment and would…
Matter of Kim
Adult legitimation did not establish sibling preference
A United States citizen petitioned for immigrant preference status for a man she described as her brother. They had the same father, but he was born to the father's concubine in Korea. Under Korean law, he became legitimated only after his father married his mother in 1943, when the man was over…
Matter of Kalia
Student could not extend practical training through exchange visitor status
An Indian student had received 18 months of practical training while in F-1 status. He sought exchange visitor status for two more years of training as a university library specialist. The district director denied the change, and the Regional Commissioner found no unusual circumstances justifying…
Richmond Block, Inc.
Mixer lockout citation vacated after employee disregarded procedure
Richmond Block manufactured concrete products and used electrically powered mixers that employees entered for cleaning. The company had installed a padlock-based energy-isolation system, trained employees to use it, and instructed them to keep the key while inside a mixer. One employee entered…
Industrial Steel Erectors, Inc.
Tie-off citation vacated because compliance increased danger
Industrial Steel Erectors was dismantling a steel structure while two experienced employees removed the last bolts and pins holding a truss 30 to 35 feet above ground. The workers normally used a protected cage and lanyards, but refused to tie off for the final release because the truss could…
Matter of Coker
No proof of parentage for daughter preference
A lawful permanent resident sought immigrant preference status for a woman he described as his daughter. She was born outside marriage in Nigeria, and the petitioner acknowledged that he had never married her mother. The Board found that, under the Nigerian law described in the record, a father…
Matter of Galvan
Commuter could enter after leaving disputed workplace
A Mexican citizen with permanent resident status crossed the border to work for Farah Manufacturing in El Paso after a labor dispute had been declared at its facilities. Officials denied her admission in April 1973, and an immigration judge ordered her admitted. By the time the Board reviewed the…
Matter of Suleiman
Rescission case remanded over missing visa eligibility allegation
The Service sought to rescind a Jordanian man's permanent residence, alleging that his marriage to a United States citizen was a sham. The immigration judge ordered rescission. The Board held that the Service also had to allege and prove that he was ineligible for another available visa…
Lance Roofing Co., Inc.
Roof-edge guarding citation reinstated
Lance Roofing employees were installing a roof on a three-story motel without guardrails or an equivalent means of preventing falls from the edge. The judge vacated that item because he concluded that the open-sided-floor standard did not apply to flat roofs. Applying its decisions in related…
Moser Heating & Roofing Co., Inc.
Official release ends before the disposition
The Commission reviewed a judge's decision vacating an other-than-serious citation under the open-sided-floor standard. The judge had concluded that 29 C.F.R. § 1926.500(d)(1) did not apply to flat roofs. The Commission stated that it had reviewed the entire record and was adopting the judge's…
ARO, Inc.
Two confined-space hazards affirmed with $1,500 in penalties
ARO employees entered a pit furnace without testing its atmosphere or disconnecting argon piping, and two employees were overcome and died in the oxygen-deficient space. Other employees immediately attempted rescue, but suitable rescue equipment was not readily available and additional workers were…
Matter of Restubog
Court remand limited to deportation destination
A court of appeals had upheld the respondent's deportability and returned her case only so she could designate the country of deportation. She then sought to reopen the case using evidence that existed before the court's order, including her child's birth and an approved family visa petition. The…
Matter of Flores
Approved visa petition did not extend visitor status
A visitor from the Philippines stayed after her authorized admission expired while waiting for an immigrant visa number. The immigration service had approved a preference petition for her and said it would notify her about her stay, but it gave no further notice before starting deportation…
Santa Fe Trail Transport Co.
Decision amended to state that no penalty was assessed
This short amendment corrects the Commission's decision issued two days earlier. That decision had incorrectly stated that the judge assessed a $50 penalty for violations involving the first-aid standard. The amendment states that the judge assessed no penalty and orders the earlier decision…
Intercounty Construction Corp.
Willful trench violation affirmed and penalty cut to $5,000
Intercounty Construction was installing a sewer line in a trench about 40 feet long and 10 feet deep. The trench was not properly sloped or shored, and the company intermittently removed its portable steel trench shield even after the foreman was told that employees were unprotected without it. The…
Matter of Cruzado
Set-aside drug conviction still supported deportation
An immigration judge ordered a Colombian permanent resident deported after a Louisiana conviction for attempting to possess drugs. A state court later set the conviction aside after probation, and the respondent argued that this removed the basis for deportation. The Board held that the state…
Matter of Fereira
Couple failed to overcome deportability findings
A married couple from Mexico appealed an immigration judge's deportability findings. The wife had entered as a nonimmigrant and stayed beyond her authorized period; the Board held that a waiver provision did not apply to her overstay. The husband said he could not remember how he last entered…
Luther Marvin Robbins d/b/a Robbins Painting Service
$900 aluminum-ladder penalty affirmed
Robbins Painting employees used and moved a 28-foot aluminum extension ladder near an energized 7,620-volt power line while painting an apartment building. The ladder contacted the line, and an employee received a fatal electrical shock. The foreman knew how close the power line was to the building…
Caribtow Corp.
Contest dismissed for refusing employee-participation notice
Caribtow expressly refused to post the Commission notice informing affected employees that they could participate in the case. The judge held that this refusal breached a condition of the company's continued participation and granted the Secretary's motion to dismiss the notice of contest. The…
V. O. Hegsted d/b/a Challenger Supply
Pallet-plant citation resolved with $106 in penalties
Challenger Supply produced wooden pallets at a small Idaho plant and received a 12-item other-than-serious citation. The judge affirmed violations involving washing facilities, housekeeping, an unguarded elevated storage area, forklift controls, missing eye protection, electrical grounding and…
Emory H. Mixon
Logging-truck violation classified as serious with a $100 penalty
Emory Mixon's logging operation used truck stake-release mechanisms that placed the operator on the side where the logs were unloaded. Drivers attached a 30-foot chain to each release, moved to the front or rear of the truck, and pulled it to lower the stake and release the load. The judge found a…
Matter of Wong Kai Yuk
Refugee claim lay outside Board's exclusion appeal jurisdiction
A Chinese citizen sought admission after an earlier deportation without permission to reapply and without an immigrant visa. He conceded both exclusion grounds but argued that he qualified as a refugee under the 1967 Protocol. The Board held that it could review the exclusion case but lacked…
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.