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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David Dzenutis d/b/a Royal Construction Company
Roofing and ladder violations affirmed
Royal Construction employees performed roofing work without a compliant hazard communication program, a nearby fire extinguisher, or adequate fall protection. OSHA also cited unsafe roof access, insufficient ladder extension, carrying a load while descending, and failure to keep one hand on the…
Academy Roofing Corp.
Fire-extinguisher citation vacated for lack of quantity proof
Academy Roofing employees used flammable cleaner and adhesive while working on a construction-site roof. After a small fire exhausted the available extinguishers, OSHA cited the company under a rule requiring an extinguisher within 50 feet when more than five gallons of flammable or combustible…
D.H. Shelton and Associates, Inc.
Electrical and fire citations settled for $1
D.H. Shelton, a plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning subcontractor, was cited at an El Paso construction project. The judge affirmed a serious item for failing to use a ground-fault circuit interrupter or an assured equipment-grounding program, plus other-than-serious items for an ungrounded…
CMH Company, Inc.; Carhar Contracting Company, Inc.
Correct employer substituted after fatal accident
Two Carhar employees died in a sewer manhole, but OSHA cited the closely related CMH company after relying on a foreman's mistaken identification. Both corporations had the same owners and officers, and their shared vice-president had assigned the project from CMH to Carhar and received the…
CAPA Iron Works, Inc.
Water drum and pails satisfied fire protection requirement
CAPA Iron Works employees used an acetylene torch at a construction site where OSHA found no portable fire extinguisher. The company relied on a 55-gallon drum of water and two fire pails as alternative equipment. The Commission accepted the judge's credibility finding that the equipment was…
Parnon Construction, Inc.
Central records allowed and extinguisher item vacated
Parnon Construction performed masonry work at several dispersed construction sites and kept its injury and illness log at its main office. The Commission held that this centralized system complied with the rule for physically dispersed operations because foremen reported daily, the office contact…
Elford, Inc.
Extinguisher and saw-switch items affirmed
Elford was remodeling a building when OSHA issued ten nonserious citation items. Two items were not contested and became final orders. Of the remaining items, the judge affirmed a fire-protection item because the extinguisher near a kerosene storage area had been discharged and was ineffective. The…
W. N. Couch Construction Company
Trench-protection violations affirmed
W. N. Couch Construction had employees working in an 11-foot-deep trench whose wall included at least 4 1/2 feet of unstable backfill. The trench was also next to backfilled excavations, a heavily traveled road, and an operating backhoe, but the company used no shoring, bracing, or other cave-in…
Port Chester Electric Construction Company, Incorporated
Direction for review vacated
The Commission vacated its direction for review in the Port Chester Electric case by referring to Francisco Tower Service. The attached judge's decision involved two electrical employees working near an unguarded elevator shaft opening with a 65- to 70-foot drop, and an employee using acetylene…
Danco construction Company
Mixed ruling on sewer-work citations and penalties
Danco received consolidated citations from three Little Rock sewer-construction sites involving posting, hard hats, fire protection, fuel handling, trenching, electrical equipment, ladders, traffic visibility, and spoil placement. The Commission held that Danco's timely contest of a citation also…
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.