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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Power Fuels, Inc.
Serious hydrogen-sulfide and respirator violation affirmed
A Power Fuels truck driver was fatally overcome by hydrogen sulfide while working alone at an oil-field salt-water tank in North Dakota without a respirator. The Commission found that the evidence established exposure above the maximum peak concentration allowed by 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1000(b)(2). It…
Smith Steel Casting Co.
Evidence from invalid warrant admitted
OSHA inspected Smith Steel’s foundry under an ex parte warrant and cited silica, copper-fume, noise, and respirator-program conditions. The Fifth Circuit later held that the warrant was invalid under the inspection regulation then in effect and returned the case for the Commission to decide whether…
Mahone Grain Corporation
Respirator-program violation reclassified as serious
Employees cleaning a long-unused grain elevator worked in thick dust with too few respirators, shared and improperly maintained equipment, and no respiratory protection program. Five employees later became ill, several requiring hospitalization, and the Commission concluded they had contracted…
Harshaw Chemical Company
Citation withdrawal remanded for union participation
OSHA cited Harshaw Chemical for serious respiratory-protection and contaminant-exposure violations, then moved to vacate the citation after concluding that testing samples had been improperly counted. The International Chemical Workers Union elected party status while that motion was pending. The…
Gardinier, Inc. & International Chemical Workers
Settlement approved after union participation
OSHA issued Gardinier two citations containing multiple serious and nonserious items and proposed $900 in total penalties. Gardinier contested most of the items, and the company and Secretary later reached a settlement. International Chemical Workers Union Local 439 had requested participation and…
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.