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.

5,593 decisions and counting · Latest decision July 17, 2026
7 decisions 29 C.F.R. § 1926.20(b)(3)

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COMM

Access Equipment Systems, Inc.

Scaffold supplier liable for hazard to another employer's workers

Access Equipment Systems leased and erected mast-climbing scaffolds for a condominium project in Miami, Florida. One scaffold collapsed after an Access lead employee added a fourth platform extension without load-capacity information, killing three employees of a plastering subcontractor. The…

April 27, 1999
Mixed result
ALJ

Venango Environmental, Inc.

Willful loader hazards affirmed after fatal overturn

Venango Environmental used a front-end loader with defective brakes and steering at a wastewater-treatment construction project. A foreman operating the loader died from injuries sustained when it overturned. Judge Michael H. Schoenfeld vacated the brake-performance item because the Secretary did…

March 26, 1999 ·Michael H. Schoenfeld
Mixed result
ALJ

M & M Road Recycle, Inc.

$5,000 in attorney fees awarded for one duplicative citation under the EAJA

After largely defeating OSHA's citations in an earlier case, M & M Road Recycle, Inc. asked for its attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which lets small employers recover costs when the government's position was not substantially justified. In the underlying case, the judge had…

June 25, 1998 ·Stanley M. Schwartz
Procedural
ALJ

Guarco Construction Company

Repeat trench cave-in citation affirmed $7,000

Guarco Construction, a two-person company acting as general contractor, was installing a sewer line at a restaurant in East Granby, Connecticut. Two off-duty OSHA officers driving past noticed an unshored, unsloped trench and stopped to inspect. They measured the trench at about 5 feet 4 inches to…

November 25, 1994 ·Barbara L. Hassenfeld-Rutberg
Citations affirmed
ALJ

P.J. Lodola & Sons, Inc.

Stairway violations affirmed serious, outlet downgraded, drill item vacated

P.J. Lodola & Sons was the electrical subcontractor on a warehouse project for Lego in Enfield, Connecticut. A 1992 OSHA inspection led to a serious citation for an uncovered electrical outlet and for trailer stairs with uneven risers and missing rails, plus a nonserious citation covering…

May 23, 1994 ·Nancy J. Spies
Mixed result
ALJ

National Engineering & Contracting Company

Electrical and rebar violations affirmed for $400

OSHA inspected National Engineering & Contracting Company while it served as general contractor on an interstate bridge replacement project in Ohio. The judge rejected challenges to the anticipatory inspection warrant and found no credible basis for the company's claim that OSHA acted vindictively…

June 7, 1993 ·Nancy J. Spies
Citations affirmed
COMM

Gerard Leone & Sons, Inc.

Dump-truck support requirements applied on a public street

Gerard Leone & Sons operated a dump truck without permanent dump-body supports and safety latches, and a falling raised body caused a fatality. The company argued that the cited motor-vehicle standards did not apply because the truck was being used on a public street. The Commission held that…

April 27, 1981
Mixed result

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.