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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Weatherby Engineering Company
Scaffold standard held unenforceable
The Commission reviewed the vacatur of a citation alleging that an elevated scaffold platform lacked guardrails and toeboards. It adhered to precedent holding that 29 C.F.R. § 1910.28(a)(3) was unenforceable because OSHA changed the source ANSI language from advisory “should” to mandatory “shall”…
Fleetwood Homes of Texas, Inc.
Movable assembly spanners classified as scaffolds
Fleetwood employees used aluminum spanners between mobile-home assembly decks to work on the ends of homes. The unguarded spanners were about four feet two inches and seven feet above the floor and were removed and repositioned every two hours as homes advanced through production. The Commission…
Weatherby Engineering Company
Respirator case severed from platform review
OSHA issued separate cases after one inspection of Weatherby's offshore drilling-rig module fabrication workplace. The judge consolidated the cases and affirmed a respirator breathing-air citation in Docket 78-0611 without a penalty. Commission review was directed only on a guardrail item in Docket…
Interpace Corporation
Incorrect settlement order vacated
OSHA cited Interpace under two scaffold provisions, and the company contested only item 1A. At the hearing, the Secretary stated that the agreement was a withdrawal of item 1A and its proposed penalty. The judge's written order instead said that Interpace had withdrawn its contest. After the judge…
Prowler Travel Trailers of New York, Inc.
Portable-platform guardrail citation vacated
Prowler employees finished travel trailers while standing on portable eight-foot spanners placed between two permanent catwalks. The spanners were 53 inches above the floor and lacked guardrails, so OSHA cited the general rule for open-sided platforms four feet or more above the floor. Commissioner…
Kennecott Copper Corporation
Scaffold citations and $350 penalty vacated
A lead burner at Kennecott's smelter worked on a narrow, unguarded plank scaffold almost 12 feet above a concrete floor and climbed to it using a wooden beam and the ribs of a mist treater. The Commission vacated the guardrail item because the Secretary had changed the source consensus standard's…
Dallas Hotel Company
Serious scaffold violation and $600 penalty affirmed
Dallas Hotel employees worked on narrow scaffold platforms 20 to 60 feet above the ground. The rear of the platforms lacked guardrails and toeboards, and cross braces were too far away to prevent a fall. One employee also worked above another, creating a falling-object hazard. The Commission…
American Chimney Corp.
Ladder and scaffold violations affirmed at chimney job
American Chimney performed maintenance work on two chimneys approximately 240 feet high at a Camden, New Jersey facility. Its employees used sectional wooden ladders whose grooved ends lacked the required reinforcement, creating a risk that a rail could split and displace a rung. The company also…
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…
City Wide Tuckpointing Service Company
Scaffold penalty reduced to $280
City Wide Tuckpointing Service Company performed masonry repair from a suspended scaffold about 65 feet above a Milwaukee sidewalk. OSHA cited six scaffold conditions, including unsafe footing, missing guardrails and toeboards, unsafe access, no protective screen, improper anchoring to a station…
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.