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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Secretary of Labor v. Stone Plus, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Stone Plus, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2013-263-M, et al.): Thirteen unwarrantable failures sustained with $28,000 penalty
MSHA cited Stone Plus for thirteen conditions at its small quarry, including missing berms and guards, defective loader brakes and seat belt, inadequate overtravel protection, and failure to conduct workplace and equipment examinations. Judge L. Zane Gill rejected the operator's jurisdictional…
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Illinois Service Company
Secretary of Labor v. Northern Illinois Service Company (FMSHRC Lake 2011-1029-M, Lake 2012-161-M): Ten violations upheld and seat-belt citation vacated
MSHA cited Northern Illinois Service Company's two portable limestone-crushing plants near Rockford, Illinois, for electrical, guarding, equipment, berm, training-record, fire-extinguisher, and examination-record conditions. Judge L. Zane Gill upheld ten violations and vacated one citation…
Secretary of Labor v. Nordic Industries, Inc.
Secretary of Labor v. Nordic Industries, Inc. (FMSHRC WEST 2014-193-M): Three equipment citations modified to $300 total
MSHA cited Nordic Industries for an unguarded platform opening, bent excavator footholds, and a badly damaged wheel-loader seatbelt. Judge Richard W. Manning upheld all three violations but reduced the platform citation's gravity and negligence to low because access was limited and the plant was…
Secretary of Labor v. Beverly Materials, LLC
Secretary of Labor v. Beverly Materials, LLC (FMSHRC LAKE 2011-876-M, LAKE 2011-957-M): Equipment and electrical citations split
Beverly Materials contested nine non-S&S citations from two Illinois sand-and-gravel pits. Judge William B. Moran vacated a brake-light citation because the loader had only been moved to the grade where its preshift test would occur and had not yet been placed in service. He affirmed reduced…
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.