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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Meridian Contractors, Inc.
Dismissals reversed and citation cases remanded
OSHA issued Meridian Contractors serious and willful construction citations with proposed penalties after two inspections. The ALJ dismissed both cases under Commission precedent treating the actions as moot because Meridian had stopped employing workers and was preparing to dissolve. After that…
Robert Lettrick Roofing Co.
Commission approves a settlement after directing the case for review, cutting the roofing citations to a $5,600 package
Robert Lettrick Roofing Company did roofing work in the Albany, New York area. After an OSHA inspection of a steep mansion-roof job in Saratoga, New York in September 1993, the Secretary issued serious, repeat, and other-than-serious citations, and Administrative Law Judge Barbara L…
Classic Homes Div. of Elite, Inc.
Fall-protection items affirmed, penalties reduced to $1,600
Classic Homes was the general contractor for a house under construction in Colorado Springs. A roofing subcontractor's employees worked on a 17-foot-high roof without the required catch platform and near second-floor wall openings without adequate guardrails. Classic Homes argued that it did not…
Universal Roofing & Sheet Metal Co.
Roof-edge PPE citation remanded under current precedent
OSHA cited Universal Roofing after an employee worked near a roof edge without personal fall protection. The judge vacated the citation, reasoning that the roof was safer than a temporary floor allowed by the safety-net rule and that a sloped-roof provision displaced the general PPE standard. The…
Minnotte Contracting & Erection Corporation
Roof fall-protection citation affirmed
Two Minnotte employees worked on a sloped roof 35 feet above the ground without a catch platform or safety belts attached to the available static line. The Commission affirmed a serious violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1926.451(u)(3). The employee-misconduct defense failed because Minnotte did not prove…
Spring Sheet Metal & Roofing Co., Inc.
Roof fall-protection citation vacated
Spring Sheet Metal employees worked on flat roof areas and accessed small upper roofs across sloped sections of a building with pagoda-like structures. OSHA alleged that the company failed to guard open roof edges and added an alternative catch-platform allegation for work involving the sloped…
J. P. Fyfe, Inc.
Flat-roof guardrail citation vacated
J. P. Fyfe employees performed roofing work on a one-story building about 15 to 17 feet above the ground. OSHA observed seven employees on the roof, including two within two or three feet of the edge, without perimeter guarding or personal fall protection. OSHA alleged a repeat serious…
Divesco Roofing and Insulation Company
Roof-platform and ladder violations affirmed
Divesco employees installed shingles on a roof 17 feet above the ground with a four-in-twelve slope, without a catch platform, parapet, or safety belts tied to lifelines. They also used a fully extended 20-foot ladder whose feet had safety shoes but whose top was not tied or otherwise secured…
Tilo Company, Inc.
Vague roofing-bracket item vacated
Tilo Company performed reroofing work on a private home in New York. OSHA issued five nonserious items for failing to provide roofing brackets, a catch platform or personal fall protection, first-aid arrangements, toilet facilities, and a secured access ladder. The Commission vacated the…
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.