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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Kiewit Western Company
Vehicle-lighting citations vacated for earthmoving equipment
Kiewit Western used large tractors and trailers to haul earth at the Denver airport construction site, including at night and in poor visibility. OSHA cited the equipment because the trailers lacked taillights and brake lights and two tractors lacked working brake lights. The Commission held that a…
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…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.