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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Independence Foundry & Manufacturing Co. Inc.
Noise and silica abatement extension approved in full
Independence Foundry sought another extension of final abatement dates for excessive noise and airborne silica dust. The parties agreed to September 1, 1980 and detailed interim measures, including respirator and hearing-protection programs, employee training, medical and audiometric review…
Structural Metals, Inc.
Noise citation vacatur left in place
OSHA cited Structural Metals under the occupational noise standard. The judge vacated the citation after the Secretary repeatedly failed to file a timely complaint, explain missed deadlines, respond to show-cause orders, or oppose dismissal. A Commissioner initially granted review after treating…
Brockway Glass Company, Inc.
Noise-abatement extension conditionally affirmed
Brockway Glass sought an extension to December 31, 1979 for final abatement of an occupational-noise violation, and the parties settled on that date. The judge approved the agreement before the employee representatives received copies. The Commission held that sending the executed agreement after…
Louisiana-Pacific Corp.
Commission reverses a promptness dismissal and remands a workplace-noise citation
OSHA cited Louisiana-Pacific Corporation's Moyie Springs, Idaho facility under the occupational-noise standard after a December 1973 inspection. The judge vacated the citation without reaching the merits because it was issued on January 7, 1974 and, in his view, lacked reasonable promptness. The…
Boise Cascade Corp., Composite Can Division
Noise ruling expanded and abatement modified
OSHA measured excessive noise at Boise Cascade's paper-and-metal container plant. The Commission affirmed violations at winder and seamer operations where employees lacked required hearing protection and reversed the judge's vacation of the punch-press portion because several operators were not…
Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation
Noise-abatement deadline extended
Owens-Corning sought to extend two noise-abatement deadlines to December 31, 1976. The judge found that the company had installed operator booths with sound levels below 90 dBA, maintained an audiometric program, supplied hearing protection, and pursued engineering controls for noisy glass…
Weyerhaeuser Company
Noise-standard ruling reversed and remanded
Weyerhaeuser's Honolulu corrugated-box plant exposed a single-facer operator to noise above the limits in OSHA's occupational-noise standard. The company required hearing protection and had investigated a range of engineering controls, while the judge vacated the citation after declaring § 1910.95…
Owens-Illinois, Inc.
Noise contest reinstated after two-citation confusion
Two compliance officers conducted one inspection and separately issued two groups of nonserious citations and proposed penalties. Owens-Illinois received the documents several days apart and mistakenly calculated its contest deadline from the later delivery, making its challenge to the earlier…
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…
Keystone Seneca Wire Cloth Co.
Noise-abatement extension affirmed despite employee-notice defect
OSHA cited Keystone Seneca Wire Cloth for excessive workplace noise and set a January 14, 1975 deadline for eliminating the exposure. The company did not contest the citation, then later requested a six-month extension of the abatement deadline. Commission rules required notice to affected…
Columbus Forge & Iron Company
Noise-abatement plan deadline extended
Columbus Forge & Iron contested a citation under OSHA's occupational-noise standard. The parties agreed that the company needed more time to prepare engineering and administrative control studies. They extended the deadline for a proposed compliance plan from August 9 to September 1, 1972, while…
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.