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.
No decisions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Kenko, Inc.
Two trench hazards affirmed and egress item vacated
Kenko employees were laying and connecting pipe in a trench more than 11 feet deep. OSHA cited the company for inadequate egress, loose rock or soil on the excavation face, and insufficient cave-in protection. The judge vacated the egress item because the backfill provided a safe way out and the…
R.W. Dunteman Co.
General contractor willfully ignored a subcontractor's trench hazard
R.W. Dunteman Co. was the general contractor on an Illinois road and underground construction project, while a subcontractor performed the below-grade work. Employees of the subcontractor worked in a trench more than six feet deep without adequate sloping, shoring, or a trench box. The judge found…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.