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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Navajo Forest Products Industries
Tribal enterprise not subject to the OSH Act under Navajo treaty rights
Navajo Forest Products Industries was created and operated by the Navajo tribe on the reservation to develop timber resources, provide employment, and support tribal services. OSHA cited the enterprise after workplace inspections, and the parties agreed that it fit the Act's literal definition of…
Chromalloy American Corporation, Federal Malleable Division
Hearing proceeds while warrant appeal is pending
Chromalloy asked to postpone its Commission hearing while the Supreme Court considered whether to review a related court ruling that upheld an OSHA inspection warrant. The Commission denied interlocutory review of the judge's refusal to postpone the hearing. It explained that after the Supreme…
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…
Western Waterproofing Co., Inc.
Commission affirms serious unguarded-floor violation for subcontractor's exposed workers
Western Waterproofing was a subcontractor whose employees patched concrete columns at the unguarded edge of a building's sixth floor without fall protection. The company sought to suppress the compliance officer's observations because he saw the condition before presenting credentials to its…
Environmental Utilities Corp.
Trench violation reclassified as serious
Environmental Utilities installed sewer pipe in trenches in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Two employees remained in the Marietta Pike trench after two of three trench jacks were removed, leaving the trench inadequately protected from a cave-in. The Commission changed the judge's classification from…
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.