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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
West Point Pepperell, Inc.
Textile-mill noise and cotton-dust citation vacated
West Point Pepperell employees worked in two textile weave rooms where measured noise levels exceeded the permissible exposure table. The Commission majority held that the Secretary did not prove technologically feasible engineering controls because the proposed loom modifications had not…
Worley Brothers Granite Co.
Silica controls required for sandblasting but not detailed shaping
Worley Brothers manufactured granite monuments using sandblasting for basic engraving and finer shaping for letters and decorative designs. Air sampling found employee exposure to respirable silica above the applicable limits, although workers used supplied-air respirators. OSHA argued that…
United States Steel Corp.
Coal-tar-pitch settlement approved
The Secretary and United States Steel settled citations alleging excessive exposure to coal tar pitch volatiles at coke-oven batteries in four plants. The Steelworkers accepted the settlement except for the Fairfield, Alabama plant, where it objected that the two-year abatement period lacked…
Republic Granite Company, Inc.
Silica-control citation vacated for lack of feasible controls
Republic Granite's monument-shaping process generated silica dust well above the permissible airborne limit. Its shaper wore an approved supplied-air respirator that the record found fully protected him from breathing the dust. OSHA argued that the company first had to use a ventilated shaping…
Empire-Detroit Steel Division, Detroit Steel Corporation
Coke-oven exposure item vacated
Empire-Detroit operated a steel mill in New Boston, Ohio. OSHA alleged that a coke-oven lid man was exposed to excessive coal tar pitch volatiles and that feasible engineering controls were not used. Although the exposure limit was exceeded, the Commission affirmed vacation of that item because the…
Stoughton Body, Inc.
Serious fire hazards affirmed and warehouse item vacated
Stoughton Body faced one four-part serious citation and thirteen nonserious items involving compressed-gas and gasoline storage, welding fumes and screens, work platforms, spray painting, electrical equipment, housekeeping, exits, and firefighting equipment. The Commission held that the company…
Spring Air Mattress Co. of Colorado
Cotton-dust citation vacated for inconclusive sampling
Spring Air Mattress processed cotton linters into batting in a garnetting room where visible dust settled on employees and machinery. OSHA sampled two employees for about three and a half hours and calculated total dust concentrations of 3.15 and 2.90 milligrams per cubic meter, above the…
Cadillac Malleable Iron Company
Carbon-monoxide penalty reduced to $200
Cadillac Malleable Iron produced iron goods at a plant where a weight-shifting employee was exposed to carbon monoxide above 150 parts per million for more than an hour. The judge found the violation serious because the exposure could impair vision and coordination, increase accident risk, and…
Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Crossett Division
Respirator violation affirmed and ventilation item vacated
Georgia-Pacific manufactured plywood, paper, and particle board at a plant where employees periodically inspected a chlorine dioxide generator. OSHA alleged that employees entered the generator area without required protective equipment and that the area lacked ventilation required for bleach…
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.