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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Lake Erie Construction Co.
Vehicle-standard coverage made location-specific and case remanded
A Lake Erie Construction crew was removing highway guardrail posts when a truck-mounted attachment contacted or came close enough to an overhead power line for electricity to travel through the equipment and fatally injure an employee holding a chain. OSHA cited the company for willfully failing to…
Harry C. Crooker & Sons, Inc.
Excavator had to maintain clearance from an energized service line
A foreman operated an excavator with its boom six to seven feet from an energized 240-volt service drop while performing street reconstruction work. The applicable construction standard required at least ten feet of clearance. The ALJ held that the general-industry electrical rule did not displace…
Hein Masonry Inc.
Forklift operated too close to energized power lines
Hein Masonry used a rough-terrain forklift to raise masonry materials beside scaffolding at a Wisconsin construction site. The forklift's metal platform came within about three to five feet of energized 13-kilovolt power lines, although the standard required at least 10 feet of clearance. A utility…
Globe Contractors, Inc.
Power-line and trench items affirmed, inspection item vacated
OSHA inspected Globe's underground-construction site on a public road and observed a backhoe operating within ten feet of an overhead wire and an employee standing on a ladder and later a water main inside an unprotected trench. The judge rejected Globe's warrant and inspection-conduct objections…
Tri-City Construction Company
Willful power-line violation carries maximum penalty
A Tri-City employee operated a backhoe beneath a 7,200-volt overhead line and contacted it. The company knew the power-line hazard, did not use a designated observer while the backhoe traveled beneath the line, and could have sought de-energization or protective covering from the utility. 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.