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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Broan-Nutone Storage Solutions, LP
Power-press supervision and guarding violations affirmed
A Broan-Nutone machine operator's hand was amputated when a mechanical power press cycled while she was clearing a jam. The judge found that she received almost no instruction or supervision when assigned to the press, which lacked the light-curtain protection used on the facility's other presses…
Worldwide Manufacturing, Inc.
Commission affirms willful and repeat machine-guarding violations and raises the penalties
Worldwide Manufacturing runs a small factory in Berkeley, Missouri that makes collapsible sawhorses, folding tables, and metal legs. OSHA inspected in 1995, cited machine-guarding and lockout/tagout problems, and Worldwide settled by agreeing to fix them. A 1997 follow-up inspection found many of…
Lumex Medical Products, Inc.
Failure-to-abate notice dismissed because the presses were never cited
Lumex settled an earlier power-press case covering two cited presses and separately agreed to a correction schedule for 57 additional presses. After a reinspection, OSHA issued a $178,500 failure-to-abate notice for 12 of the additional presses. The Commission held that the settlement did not amend…
L & B Products, Corp.
Fifty manufacturing safety items affirmed
L & B Products, Corp. manufactured furniture at a facility in Hudson, New York. OSHA issued 51 serious and other-than-serious items after inspecting eight departments. The allegations covered elevated work areas, exit signs, flammable liquids, fire and lockout training, machine and power-press…
National Metalwares, Inc.
Machine-guarding case settled for $12,000
National Metalwares faced a failure-to-abate allegation involving mechanical power press dies and a repeat machine-guarding item involving a tube bender. The settlement withdrew the failure-to-abate allegation for one die and reduced that penalty to $11,500. The parties approved die-specific…
Standard Motor Products Company
Power-press guarding citation vacated for insufficient proof
A mechanical power press had a six-inch opening in its hairpin guard for ejecting finished parts, and a box covered that opening during OSHA's inspection. OSHA theorized that an employee might remove the box and reach through the opening to clear a jam or adjust stock. The Commission held that the…
Auto Sun Products Co.
Plating protections affirmed and press items vacated
Auto Sun employees handled parts over acid and cyanide tanks without chemical goggles or face shields, and the closely spaced tanks lacked dikes or another means to prevent dangerous intermixing after a rupture. The Commission affirmed both plating-operation violations without penalties. It vacated…
RKL Building Specialities Co., Inc.
Power-press guarding violation affirmed with $100 penalty
RKL's mechanical power press had guarded access at the front but unguarded 10-inch side openings only a few inches from the point of operation. The judge found that the press operator was not reasonably exposed because he would release the foot pedal and shut off power before addressing a…
Losli, Inc.
$100 power-shear guarding penalty affirmed
Losli operated a sheet-metal fabrication plant with a twelve-foot Wysong shear. The point-of-operation guard had an opening that did not prevent employees' fingers from entering the cutting area. The employer contested only the proposed $550 penalty and repeatedly admitted the violation. The judge…
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.