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.
Pennsylvania Power & Light Co.
Grounding or barricading violation affirmed
A Pennsylvania Power & Light crew was installing a utility pole near a 7.2-kilovolt line. The crew leader moved a digger truck's boom into the energized line while the truck was neither grounded nor barricaded, and he died in the resulting electrical incident. PP&L argued that its two-foot…
Mississippi Power and Light
General-duty electrical citation vacated
A Mississippi Power crew replacing a utility pole attempted to transfer an 8,000-volt line after opening the wrong disconnect, and one lineman died; the Commission inferred that he was electrocuted by the live line. OSHA cited the company under the general duty clause even though specific…
ABCO Tree & Hedge Service
Power-line tree-trimming violation affirmed
An ABCO employee trimming a tree with a seven-foot aluminum pole saw contacted an energized power line and was electrocuted. He was about eight feet from the line and used neither insulated equipment nor personal protective equipment for electrical hazards. The judge found that contact was…
Ocean Electric Corp.
Serious electrical citation and $700 penalty affirmed
Ocean Electric was installing switchgear beside energized equipment when a foreman left a cabinet door open, exposing energized bus bars. An apprentice following the foreman's direction contacted a bus bar and was electrocuted. The company admitted that the electrical-safety standard was breached…
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review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j): it binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent in other cases.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.