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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Delta Field Erection, Inc.
Temporary-lighting citation vacated for lack of knowledge
Delta Field employees repaired trays inside a Tenneco ethyl-benzene storage tower using portable lights installed and controlled by Tenneco. A Tenneco employee mistakenly opened a natural gas line, an explosion followed, and 13 workers died, although the record did not establish that the lighting…
United Roofing & Sheet Metal, Inc.
Wet-location lighting and hard-hat items affirmed
United Roofing & Sheet Metal employees were installing metal ducts in a below-ground mechanical room at the Crystal City Metro Station in Virginia. The company withdrew its contest to an item alleging that an employee’s damaged hard hat did not meet the applicable head-protection requirements. A…
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.
Electrical and passageway items affirmed
Chicago Bridge & Iron was one of many contractors building nuclear-reactor containment vessels. OSHA cited improper attachment plugs, unguarded temporary bulbs, temporary lights suspended by unsuitable cords, 110-volt portable lighting in moist metal vessels, and hoses and cables obstructing…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.