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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Brubacher Excavating, Inc. and Traffic Control Services LLC, d/b/a Flagger Force
Traffic-control citations vacated
Brubacher Excavating performed road construction while Flagger Force supplied traffic-control services. OSHA cited both employers under 29 C.F.R. § 1926.200(g)(1) after warning signs were omitted from the southbound approach and a nearby exit ramp, and a vehicle struck and seriously injured a…
Lakeland Enterprises of Rhinelander, Inc.
Willful trench violation and $50,200 affirmed
A Lakeland employee worked at the bottom of an 18-foot excavation without a ladder or cave-in protection while a part-owner continued operating a backhoe nearby. The judge found that the trench walls were inadequately sloped in Type C soil with pockets of Type B soil and that loose soil was visibly…
Sunshine Guardrail Service
Advance traffic signs required for roadside work
Sunshine replaced guardrail posts beside four lanes of Florida Turnpike traffic after the general contractor failed to place the required advance construction signs. The crew used cones, safety vests, truck warning lights, and the guardrail area, but those measures did not warn motorists in…
CEI West Roofing Co., Inc.
Hard-hat and traffic-sign items affirmed
CEI West Roofing Co., Inc. was cited at a Colorado roofing project where employees unloaded materials near traffic and worked on an unguarded roof. Administrative Law Judge James H. Barkley affirmed the hard-hat item because employee statements and the crew's conduct showed a practice that CEI's…
Kesler & Sons Construction Company
Failure-to-abate ruling affirmed after court remand
OSHA cited Kesler & Sons Construction Company for several safety violations and ordered immediate correction. The company did not contest that citation, and OSHA reinspected before the 15-working-day contest period expired, finding four conditions uncorrected. A judge affirmed the failure-to-abate…
Francis E. Figley
Excavation and traffic-sign citations vacated by an equally divided Commission
Francis E. Figley was boring beneath a roadway from a deep excavation for a sewer line. OSHA cited the company for failing to shore or properly slope the hard or compact upper soil and for failing to post traffic signs near the excavation, which was about 10 feet from a heavily traveled highway…
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.