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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Matter of Maccaud
Canada deportation designation and withholding denial upheld
A Canadian citizen facing deportation named Ireland as his preferred destination and claimed Irish citizenship based on a passport. Ireland did not give unconditional acceptance, so the immigration judge designated Canada as the alternate destination. The Board held that a passport was not…
Keystone Forging Company
Letter treated as notice of contest
Keystone Forging sent a June 1 letter concerning a non-serious citation and requested additional time to abate several items. Earlier orders treated the letter as an abatement-extension request. The Commission instead treated the letter as a notice of contest under section 10(a) of the Act. It…
Driscoll Construction Company, Inc.
Lanyard violation affirmed
Driscoll Construction was performing sewer reconstruction in a deep trench where employees used 40-foot safety-belt lanyards. During demolition of a sewer arch, two employees had not shortened or connected their lanyards to limit a fall to six feet, and one employee fell and was fatally injured…
California Stevedore and Ballast Company
Two longshoring citations affirmed
California Stevedore employees worked cargo aboard two vessels under an unsecured 1,000-pound hatch beam, with open-ended hatch-beam hooks, and on narrow ledges without handlines or grab rails. The Commission amended the unsecured-beam citation to allege a serious violation, affirmed it, and…
Matter of Blancaflor
Visa petitions denied because children were not legitimated
A permanent resident sought visa preference status for his son and daughter born in the Philippines. He said he had recognized them before a birth registrar and later had a common law marriage with their mother. The Board explained that Philippine law required the parents to marry for children born…
Lake Butler Apparel Company
Electrical-grounding penalty restored
Lake Butler Apparel manufactured clothing and continuously used six ungrounded portable electrical tools or appliances. The judge affirmed the electrical-grounding, fire-extinguisher color, and OSHA-notice posting violations, but vacated a grinder work-rest item for lack of factual proof. The judge…
Tacoma Boatbuilding Company, Inc.
Six shipyard violations affirmed
Tacoma Boatbuilding employees worked in fish tanks aboard two vessels on staging without required rails, on single planks instead of double planks, and with unattended oxygen and acetylene hoses left connected at the cylinders. The Commission treated the same condition on each vessel as a separate…
Globe Union, Inc.
Abatement order set aside while employer contest remained pending
OSHA cited Globe Union for excessive employee exposure to lead and alleged failures to use feasible controls and respirators. The employee representative contested the abatement period, while the employer separately contested the citation and proposed penalty. The union later moved to withdraw its…
Matter of Lopez
Deportation appeals dismissed after unsupported claims
A married couple from Mexico overstayed their visitor admissions and appealed an immigration judge's deportation order. They argued that leaving would violate their U.S. citizen child's rights. The Board held that the child's rights did not permit the parents to remain in violation of immigration…
Hi-Fi Carpet Mills, Inc.
Late contest rejected
OSHA cited Hi-Fi Carpet Mills for eight non-serious conditions involving electrical grounding, compressed air, exits, access to electrical controls, housekeeping, and flexible wiring. The company received the citation and proposed penalties on January 19, 1972, making February 9 the final day to…
Baroco Industries, Inc.
Withdrawal made conditional
Baroco Industries asked to withdraw its notice of contest, and the Secretary did not object. The judge granted the request and affirmed the citation and $150 in proposed penalties. The Commission found that the record did not show abatement, penalty tender, an opportunity for affected employees to…
St. Louis County Water Company
Penalties reduced to $450
St. Louis County Water Company was cited for 32 non-serious violations at five facilities, including electrical, stairway, housekeeping, flammable-liquid, compressed-gas, welding, equipment, ladder, and protective-equipment conditions. The company stopped contesting the violations and abatement…
Matter of Murat-Khan
Student's short incarceration did not end student status
A Pakistani nonimmigrant student was convicted of residing where drug laws were violated and spent about 20 days in jail before the rest of her sentence was suspended. The Service argued that the conviction and incarceration meant she had failed to maintain her student status. The Board held that…
Matter of Louie
Deportation proceedings terminated despite innocent visa error
A husband and wife entered as preference immigrants after the husband's brother was represented as a U.S. citizen. The brother was not a citizen, making their visas improper, but the couple had not known his true status. An immigration judge found them deportable and denied relief because they had…
Ventre Packing Co., Inc.
Citation vacated because the cooler top was not a platform
Ventre Packing used the top of an eight-to-nine-foot walk-in cooler extension to store pieces of a disassembled metal frame. OSHA cited the company because the elevated surface lacked perimeter guardrails, and the administrative law judge affirmed the citation with a $25 penalty. The Commission…
Matter of Karim
Spouse visa petition denied without proof of prior divorce
A U.S. citizen sought immediate relative status for her husband, who had previously married in Pakistan. He said his first marriage ended by mutual consent through letters, while his former wife's affidavits gave conflicting dates and did not describe that method. The Board explained that Pakistani…
Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Crossett Division
Respirator violation affirmed and ventilation item vacated
Georgia-Pacific manufactured plywood, paper, and particle board at a plant where employees periodically inspected a chlorine dioxide generator. OSHA alleged that employees entered the generator area without required protective equipment and that the area lacked ventilation required for bleach…
Matter of Mehta
Student status lost during incarceration
An Indian national entered the United States as a nonimmigrant student and was later jailed for 23 days after convictions for profanity in public and breach of the peace. An immigration judge found that the incarceration violated the conditions of his student status. The Board agreed, relying on…
Matter of Namio
Delayed retraction did not restore eligibility for voluntary departure
An Italian citizen entered the United States without inspection and gave false answers under oath during a border patrol interview. He later sought voluntary departure, which required him to show good moral character. The Board held that his sworn statements counted as false testimony under the…
Matter of Bohmwald
Unsupported persecution claim did not justify reopening
A Chilean citizen overstayed his visitor admission and did not leave after an immigration judge granted voluntary departure. He moved to reopen his deportation case to request withholding of deportation to Chile. The motion said he was Catholic and opposed the government there, but included no…
Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation
Contested pit citation affirmed after withdrawal
Kaiser Aluminum received a two-item citation for other-than-serious violations, including unguarded pits and a powered-industrial-truck condition. The company contested only Item 1(b), which concerned eight unguarded pits and carried an amended $40 penalty. Kaiser later moved to withdraw that…
Delta Tank Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Some abatement extensions granted
Delta Tank Manufacturing asked to modify a final Commission order by extending the abatement dates for four citation items. The administrative law judge granted extensions for Items 1 and 3 but denied them for Items 2 and 4. After reviewing the record and the Secretary of Labor's brief, the…
American Smelting and Refining Company
Airborne lead general-duty violation affirmed
American Smelting and Refining operated a lead-refining plant in Omaha where air samples showed inorganic lead concentrations above the level generally accepted as safe. The administrative law judge found that the airborne lead was a recognized hazard likely to cause death or serious physical harm…
Matter of Zappa
Printing error did not give immigration judge adjustment authority
An Italian citizen returned to the United States on advance parole, then sought permanent resident status. A district director denied adjustment of status and revoked his parole. At an exclusion hearing, the applicant asked the immigration judge to consider adjustment again, relying on text printed…
Matter of Nestor
Exclusion upheld without showing harm from counsel waiver
A Haitian citizen arrived in Miami without a visa and was ordered excluded after a hearing at which she had no lawyer. On appeal, counsel argued that she had not understood her waiver of counsel and sought protection because she feared political danger if returned to Haiti. The Board found no…
McConnell and Johnson, Inc.
Scaffold penalty reduced to $300
McConnell and Johnson used a long tubular scaffold while employees sandblasted a building 20 to 35 feet above the ground. The scaffold lacked standard railings and toeboards, had missing or unsecured braces, rested in places on concrete blocks, and included gaps and unsecured planks. The company…
Ryder Truck Lines, Inc.
Dockworker foot-protection citation affirmed
Ryder Truck Lines operated a freight terminal where dockworkers handled varied cargo around carts and powered equipment. OSHA cited the company because foot protection was not consistently used, and the record showed hazards from falling freight and vehicle wheels as well as a history of foot…
Rawls General Repair
Fire-extinguisher item affirmed and three items vacated
Rawls General Repair maintained and painted commercial fishing boats at a small Florida facility. OSHA cited the business for an unguarded scaffold, electrical conditions involving an arc welder, damaged welding cable insulation, and inadequate fire extinguishers. The administrative law judge…
Chace International Corp.
Withdrawal conditioned on employee service
Chace International sought to withdraw its contest of four citation items after stating that it had corrected the conditions and paid the proposed $220 penalty. The judge granted the motion based on an understanding that affected employees had received notice. The Commission could not find support…
Divesco Roofing and Insulation Company
Roof-platform and ladder violations affirmed
Divesco employees installed shingles on a roof 17 feet above the ground with a four-in-twelve slope, without a catch platform, parapet, or safety belts tied to lifelines. They also used a fully extended 20-foot ladder whose feet had safety shoes but whose top was not tied or otherwise secured…
Tyee Construction Company
Live-wire splicing violation affirmed
A Tyee Construction employee spliced a severed, energized 220-volt underground power line while standing on damp ground. He used uninsulated hand tools, regular work boots, and a piece of plywood as his only protection, while a superintendent and safety employee observed the work. The evidence…
Matter of Montero
Permanent residence abandoned on return to Dominican Republic
A Dominican citizen entered the United States as a permanent resident in 1963, stayed about 20 days, and returned to her husband, children, home, and business in the Dominican Republic. She later entered repeatedly on visitor visas and overstayed in 1970. The Board held that she abandoned her…
Frazee Construction Company
Trench citation vacated after OSHA withheld inspection records
OSHA alleged that Frazee Construction willfully failed to shore, slope, or otherwise protect a trench and proposed a $9,000 penalty. During the hearing, the compliance officer disclosed that he had prepared notes, memoranda, and a report from four inspections and the closing conference. OSHA…
Robert J. Sweet, Inc.
Contest withdrawn and abatement date extended
Robert J. Sweet asked to withdraw its notice of contest and extend the citation's abatement date to January 15, 1973. The Secretary of Labor did not object to either request. The administrative law judge granted both motions and affirmed the citation and proposed penalties, as amended, as final…
Caldwell Lace Leather Company
Failure-to-abate penalty reduced to $1,000
Caldwell Lace Leather operated a tannery with six floor pits about six feet deep. An uncontested citation required approved guarding, but at reinspection the five lime pits still had only low concrete curbs and the soak pit had a 24-inch railing instead of the required 42-inch standard railing. The…
Feedmobile, Inc.
Grinder failure-to-abate penalty reduced to $455
Feedmobile manufactured feed-mill equipment and used five portable disc grinders without wheel guards. The company paid the original $50 penalty but did not install guards by the March 31 abatement deadline, and a reinspection four days later found the condition unchanged. Feedmobile said it had…
John B. Kelly, Inc.
Wall-collapse violation affirmed and serious penalty raised
John B. Kelly employees modified a 17-foot free-standing masonry wall at a federal construction project. A supervisor directed that the wall be supported with diagonal braces, but twice observed the employee proceeding without those braces and left after repeating warnings. The employee later…
Western Batteries, Inc.
Abatement date extended by stipulation
Western Batteries sought additional time to abate Item 1 of an amended citation. The administrative law judge extended the abatement date through July 17, 1973. After Commission review was directed, the parties jointly stipulated that the modification should be granted and all further proceedings…
Patelos Industries, Ltd.
Radial-saw failure-to-abate penalty affirmed
Patelos manufactured doors and windows using five radial saws whose lower blade portions lacked automatic guards. After two abatement extensions, a reinspection found that the saws still were not properly guarded. The company had obtained three guards but removed them because they jammed during…
Frank Irey, Jr., Inc.
Willful trench violation and $5,335 total penalties affirmed
Frank Irey performed underground electrical-conduit work in a trench about seven-and-one-half feet deep. The trench was not shored or sloped in soft or unstable material, and an employee died when a side collapsed. The administrative law judge classified the trench violation as willful because the…
Jasper Construction, Inc.
Hidden roof-hole hazard and $500 penalty affirmed
Jasper Construction created a roof opening about five feet by twenty feet for a ventilation shaft. The opening remained inadequately guarded for about a month and was later covered only with paper and lightweight insulation that could not support a person's weight. A subcontractor's employee walked…
Imco Container Company
Solvent-glove citation vacated for lack of hazard proof
Imco manufactured plastic containers and used Stoddard solvent to remove blurred enamel labels before reprinting them. Employees scrubbed bottles without gloves, and their hands became wet with solvent during the process. OSHA alleged that the solvent was a chemical hazard requiring hand protection…
Tishman Realty & Construction Company, Inc.
High-rise perimeter and debris citations affirmed
Tishman was the general contractor for a New York high-rise construction project. Multiple floors had no perimeter protection or lacked midrails and toeboards, including open sections near material and concrete hoists, and the twelfth and thirteenth floors contained accumulated construction waste…
Gressani-Gysel Construction, Inc.
Stairwell-opening citation vacated because no floor was proved
Gressani-Gysel was cited after a steel beam fell through an open stairwell or chimney-like area while employees worked above and a subcontractor's employees worked below. One subcontractor employee died, and the record showed a recognized falling-material hazard. OSHA charged the company under a…
B. Heckerman Iron Works, Inc.
Helmet item affirmed and opening citations vacated
B. Heckerman Iron Works employees worked in a stairwell area where materials could fall from above. The administrative law judge vacated the serious floor-opening citation and its $500 penalty because OSHA did not prove that a floor existed at the third-story elevation, making the cited…
Brisk Waterproofing Company, Inc.
Scaffold access charge amended and $1,200 assessed
Brisk employees performed caulking work from two suspended scaffolds 18 stories above the ground. An employee moved between them around a pylon and across an open gap without a safety belt, and three employees occupied a scaffold rated for no more than two workers. The Commission held that OSHA…
Matter of Khan
Mistaken admission did not prevent deportation
A Pakistani citizen entered as the accompanying son of a fifth preference immigrant, but that principal beneficiary had died before he arrived. The Board had already dismissed his appeal from a deportation order. On reconsideration, he argued that the government could not deport him because an…
Clover Beef Company
Portable-saw grounding item affirmed and fixed-equipment item vacated
Clover Beef processed and packed meat using several fixed electrical machines and a portable hand-held saw. OSHA cited the company because the exposed metal parts of the equipment were not grounded. The Commission vacated the fixed-equipment item because the cited rule required grounding only under…
Portland Stevedoring Company
Unsecured hatch-beam violation classified as serious
Portland Stevedoring employees unloaded cargo from a ship while an unsecured hatch beam remained above the working hold. The beam was about 30 feet long, weighed 900 to 1,200 pounds, and was positioned roughly 40 feet above at least three employees. The Commission held the violation serious because…
Smith and Company, Inc.
Seven non-serious items and $95 penalty affirmed
Smith and Company manufactured clothing at a plant with about 162 employees. It admitted non-serious violations involving an elevated and unmarked exit, fire extinguishers mounted too high, inadequately guarded fans, a bench grinder lacking complete guarding and a work rest, and flexible cord used…
Winslow Crane Service, Inc.
Brace and power-line citations vacated
Winslow owned and operated a crane used near an energized power line during pipeline work. A worker employed by another company was electrocuted when the crane equipment contacted the line, but the administrative law judge vacated Winslow's serious citation because Winslow had a stricter 15-foot…
Oak Lane Diner
Five safety items affirmed and posting item vacated
Oak Lane Diner was cited for a broken stepladder, overdue fire-extinguisher inspections, an ungrounded food mixer, a spliced meat-saw cord, failure to post the OSHA employee notice, and an ungrounded bench grinder. The administrative law judge found all six non-serious violations but vacated the…
Automatic Elevator Corporation
Elevator-shaft scaffold violation classified as serious
An Automatic Elevator foreman worked in an elevator shaft on a platform made from two two-by-four boards about 20 feet above a concrete floor. The platform lacked required guardrails and overhead protection, and open shaft entrances lacked toeboards; the foreman also wore a bump cap instead of…
Greenfield and Associates, a Joint Venture
Tunnel citations settled for $16,000
Greenfield constructed a Lake Huron water-intake tunnel where an explosion killed 22 employees and seriously injured many others. OSHA issued nine citations concerning atmospheric testing, methane and communication hazards, ventilation, fire and explosion controls, evacuation planning…
Matter of Guiot
Planned teaching assignment abroad did not bar reentry permit
A permanent resident planned to teach in Canada for somewhat less than two years, taking his family and possessions with him. The district director had denied his reentry permit application because his principal home would be in Canada during that period. On remand, the director reconsidered and…
The Verne-Woodrow Company
Access citation affirmed and safety-net item vacated
Verne-Woodrow employees erected steel framing and installed roof-truss bracing about 28 feet above ground and over a concrete pit. They used no safety nets, scaffolds, catch platforms, temporary floors, safety lines, or safety belts. The administrative law judge nevertheless vacated the safety-net…
Matter of Souqi
Reentry permit granted for temporary return to Kuwait
A recently admitted permanent resident sought a reentry permit so he could return to Kuwait for about two years to sell his home and business and arrange immigration for his wife and children. The district director denied the application because the applicant had spent little time in the United…
American Motors Corporation
Welding-ventilation item vacated and $254 assessed
OSHA cited American Motors for 29 non-serious conditions at its Milwaukee automobile plant. After withdrawals, admissions, and a hearing, the administrative law judge affirmed 17 items, vacated 12, and assessed $279. Commission review focused on a welding station where no mechanical ventilation was…
Matter of Castaneda
Permission to reapply after deportation denied
A Mexican citizen who had been deported sought permission to apply again for admission so she could raise her two U.S. born sons in the United States. The regional commissioner considered that family connection but found it outweighed by her conduct in immigration proceedings. She had repeatedly…
Aire-Lite Industries, Inc.
Flammable-liquid item vacated and $120 assessed
Aire-Lite manufactured aluminum screens, doors, and related products. The contested items involved flammable-liquid storage near a spray area, non-explosion-proof lighting and fans, blocked and overdue fire extinguishers, and table saws without required guards, spreaders, or anti-kickback devices…
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.