Federal agency decisions, searchable in plain English.
Workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), each with a plain-English summary, the standards it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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Loretto-Oswego Residential Health Care Facility
Repeat violations reduced to serious
Loretto-Oswego operated a nursing home affiliated with two other Loretto facilities that had prior final orders for substantially similar violations. The judge treated the related corporations as a single employer and affirmed seven items as repeat. The Commission reversed because the facilities…
J.C. Watson Company
Onion packing operations were subject to general-industry standards
J.C. Watson Company grew onions and operated an Idaho facility that cleaned, sorted, graded, packaged, and prepared them for shipment. After an employee's arm was caught under a moving conveyor, OSHA cited the company under numerous general-industry standards. Watson argued that its packing work…
St. Lawrence Food Corp., dba Primo Foods
Most dairy-plant health and safety citations affirmed
OSHA conducted health and safety inspections at Primo Foods, a kosher dairy, and cited hazards involving ammonia refrigeration, respirators, confined spaces, chemical training, noise, machine guarding, electrical work, lockout/tagout, powered industrial trucks, and recordkeeping. The ALJ found that…
Safeway, Inc.
Review vacated after split over propane grill citation
Safeway managers directed employees to adapt an oversized 40-pound propane cylinder to a grill designed for a 20-pound cylinder, leaving the larger cylinder leaning against the grill. Escaping liquid propane ignited and injured two employees. Both participating Commissioners agreed that the…
FPM Group, Ltd.
EAJA fee application denied after citation withdrawal
OSHA withdrew a serious compressed-gas citation against FPM Group before the case was set for hearing. FPM then sought fees and expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act for work performed by its president and an administrative assistant. The judge held that a self-represented party is not…
North Atlantic Fish Company, Inc.
Broad fish-plant safety violations affirmed
OSHA's safety and health inspections of North Atlantic's Massachusetts fish-processing plant identified extensive fire, machine, electrical, chemical, respiratory, noise, storage, and powered-industrial-truck hazards. The judge affirmed most of the serious items, including general duty violations…
Penn Central Transportation Co.
Rail-shop safety violations and $625 penalty affirmed
OSHA cited Penn Central's railway maintenance and repair shop for 15 nonserious conditions involving fall protection, fire and chemical safety, compressed air, machine and electrical guarding, and failure to post the OSHA notice. The Commission agreed that railroad status did not remove OSHA…
Kemmerlin Meats, Inc.
Seventeen plant violations affirmed with $235 penalties
Kemmerlin Meats admitted 17 violations at its South Carolina meatpacking plant involving compressed-gas cylinders, machine guarding, electrical wiring and grounding, housekeeping, ladders, knives, sanitation, and equipment labeling. Penalties were proposed for six items, including raw wires…
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…
Clavier Corporation
Ten safety items affirmed and two vacated
Clavier Corporation researched, developed, and manufactured electrical equipment in New York. OSHA issued a 12-item citation covering conditions that included compressed-gas cylinders, machine guarding, first-aid readiness, compressed-air cleaning, flammable-liquid containers, and electrical…
What these documents are
- Commission decisions: Rulings by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission itself, the highest level of agency review. These are citable as Commission precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by OSHRC Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.
- 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 OSHRC public release, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.