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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Freeze Technology International, Inc.
Mixed ruling after nitrogen asphyxiation at pipeline freeze site
Freeze Technology used liquid nitrogen to form ice plugs in an underground water pipeline so Enerpipe could perform hydrostatic testing at a remote Oklahoma ranch. Two night-shift workers were found dead inside the freeze excavation after nitrogen gas displaced the oxygen. The judge affirmed…
Yellow Freight Systems, Inc.
DOT rules did not preempt OSHA spill protections
OSHA cited Yellow Freight after hazardous-material spills at its Colorado freight terminal. The Commission held that the governing transportation statute expressly prevented Department of Transportation actions from preempting OSHA enforcement for the cited working conditions. It remanded the…
Halocarbon Products Corporation
Commission approves $5,500 chemical-safety settlement
Halocarbon Products manufactured specialty chemicals at a New Jersey plant where OSHA investigated after a reported chemical exposure hospitalized two employees, one of whom later died. OSHA alleged general-duty, respirator-program, and hazard-communication violations and initially proposed $37,000…
United Technologies, Pratt & Whitney
Commission approves plating-shop settlement
Pratt & Whitney operated a plating shop at its West Palm Beach facility, where two maintenance employees were splashed with a cyanide solution during equipment-relocation work. OSHA cited alleged training, protective-equipment, warning-sign, labeling, and hazard-communication violations. The judge…
J.W. Bill Christie, Inc.
Confined-space citations settled for $240
J.W. Bill Christie repaired natural-gas pipelines and was cited after a gas release in a below-ground manhole overcame two employees, who died. OSHA alleged that employees lacked adequate confined-space hazard instruction, training, and respiratory protection. The judge affirmed two serious…
Farmers Export Company
Settlement with exculpatory language approved
The parties settled a serious-citation case arising from Farmers Export's Louisiana grain facility. The judge rejected the agreement because it denied admissions and restricted use of the settlement in later proceedings. A Commission majority held that the Commission may review settlements but…
Aero Engineering Co.
Respirator procedure citation affirmed with a $60 penalty
OSHA cited Aero Engineering for failing to prepare written procedures for the safe use of gas-mask and cartridge respirators during hydrochloric acid emergencies and normal operations. The company initially appeared to settle, later indicated that it wished to contest the case, and then did not…
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.