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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Bast Hatfield, Inc.
Scaffold and ladder items affirmed
Bast Hatfield employees performed masonry work from scaffolds at a church construction project in New York. Judge Robert A. Yetman denied Bast's Fourth Amendment challenge because the OSHA inspector observed the work from a parking area that remained open to church visitors and the public. He…
Andrew Catapano Enterprises, Inc.
Separate trench citations largely upheld
OSHA issued nine sets of citations covering 98 alleged violations at separate water-main trench worksites along Eighth Avenue in New York City. The Commission held that the Secretary could inspect and cite the separate worksites independently because correcting a condition in one trench did not…
American Bridge/Lashcon, J.V.
Fall protection and cylinder-storage violations affirmed
American Bridge/Lashcon employees repeatedly crossed a 13-inch-wide beam 28 feet above the ground while wearing safety belts that were not tied off. The Commission held that protection was required for this discrete crossing task even though employees tied off while performing other work. It also…
E.R. Del Moral, Inc.
Scaffold and fall-hazard violations affirmed
E.R. Del Moral was performing construction work in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The judge found that employees worked on elevated scaffolds and platforms with missing end guardrails and inadequate intermediate rails, and that safety belts did not substitute for the guardrails required by the cited…
Security Elevator, Inc.
Fuel-cylinder wrench citation vacated
Security Elevator was cited after an OSHA inspection at a construction project for Sterling Drug Company in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. One alleged violation concerning fuel-gas equipment was settled before the hearing. The remaining item alleged that a required wrench was not left on a fuel-gas…
Hensel Phelps Construction Co.
Flammable-liquid storage item affirmed
Hensel Phelps was the general contractor for construction of a federal prison facility in Florence, Colorado. A painting subcontractor stored far more than 25 gallons of flammable and combustible liquids in a warehouse without an approved cabinet, near electrical equipment, smoking, and employee…
Fluidics, Inc.
Mixed construction ruling assesses $13,600
Fluidics performed mechanical-system renovations at a Philadelphia public-housing project with unusually difficult site-security conditions. The judge affirmed serious violations involving unsecured and improperly separated compressed-gas cylinders, missing GFCI protection, exposed energized…
Vogel Brothers
Four serious construction violations affirmed, two vacated
Vogel Brothers Building Company was the general contractor on a wastewater administration building project in Tampa, Florida. The judge affirmed serious violations involving an unavailable fire extinguisher at a diesel fueling area, unguarded floor edges, an unbarricaded crane swing radius, and…
Tri-State Construction, Inc. and National Engineering & Contracting Company
Inspection upheld and bridge-edge item vacated
Tri-State and National worked on a multi-employer interstate-highway rehabilitation project in Cincinnati. The employers challenged OSHA's initial warrantless inspection of an outdoor bridge work area and the later project-wide inspection conducted under a warrant. The Commission held that the…
Compass Steel Erection, Inc.
Welding-cable citation settled as other-than-serious
OSHA cited Compass Steel after finding damaged arc-welding cable repaired with duct tape, an incomplete hazard communication program, and oxygen and acetylene cylinders placed together. An ALJ affirmed the welding-cable item as serious with a $360 penalty and found the four remaining items de…
Shank-Ohbayashi
One tunnel docket severed, leaving $600 in penalties
Shank-Ohbayashi faced citations from two inspections of its Los Angeles Metro-Rail tunneling project. The cases were tried together, but Commission review was sought only for Docket 88-2674. The Commission severed Docket 88-1711 after finding no party or public interest that warranted further…
Mosser Construction, Inc.
Construction citation settlement approved without penalties
OSHA cited Mosser Construction for serious, repeat, and other-than-serious conditions and initially proposed $2,300. The judge vacated the flammable-liquid, welding-cylinder, and aerial-lift items, while affirming an electrical grounding item without a penalty. In settlement, the Secretary withdrew…
Novak & Co., Inc.
Multi-employer worksite citations vacated
Novak, a plumbing subcontractor, was cited for allegedly inadequate overhead protection, improperly stored gas cylinders belonging to another contractor, unguarded floor perimeters, and an open floor hole. The Commission vacated every item. The Secretary did not prove that the entrance canopy was…
Chapman Construction Co., Inc.
Repeated grounding and serious fall violations affirmed
A portable circular saw previously cited for lack of grounding again failed a continuity test, and employees used stairways and landings with missing or inadequate rails. The Commission held that inexpensive continuity testing would have revealed the saw's latent grounding defect through reasonable…
Belger Cartage Service, Inc.
Gas-cylinder violation classified as repeated
Belger Cartage stored oxygen, acetylene, and propane cylinders together beside a tool shed without the required separation or fire-resistant barrier. Employees regularly entered the shed, smoking occurred nearby, and combustible paper waste was present. The Commission reversed the judge's de…
Rust Engineering Company; Allegheny Industrial Electric Company
Scaffold access item reduced to de minimis
A Rust Engineering employee climbed down a 15-foot scaffold using its end-frame bars instead of a separate access ladder. The Commission agreed that the bars were not equivalent to a proper ladder because their spacing varied from 19 to 21 inches and the record did not show slip-resistant…
Rayco Construction Company, Inc.
Repeat guardrail and housekeeping violations affirmed
Rayco employees worked on unguarded second- and third-floor levels in cold, gusty weather with ice, snow, and water on the surfaces. Some came within inches of floor edges or worked on beams outside the floors, facing falls of 12 to 24 feet. The second floor also contained lumber with protruding…
Sletten Construction Co.
Bridge guardrail citation affirmed
Sletten Construction was excavating bridge piers and used a work bridge above water without guardrails. The Commission upheld the judge's finding, based on circumstantial evidence, that employees were exposed to the unguarded bridge and affirmed the repeated violation with a $340 penalty. It 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.