The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is an independent federal agency, providing administrative trial and appellate review, created to decide contests of citations or penalties resulting from OSHA inspections of American work places. The Review Commission functions as a two-tiered administrative court, with established procedures for (1) conducting hearings, receiving evidence and rendering decisions by its Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and (2) discretionary review of ALJ decisions by a panel of Commissioners.
DECISION PENDING REVIEW This proceeding is before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (“the Commission”) pursuant to Section 10(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq. (“the Act”). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) conducted an inspection of a Q3 Contracting, Inc. (“Respondent”) worksite in Denver, CO on April 26, 2010. As a result of the inspection, OSHA issued a Citation and Notification of Penalty (“Citation”) to Respondent alleging two serious violations of the Act and a proposed penalty of $3442.00.
DECISION AND ORDER John R. Jurgensen Company (Jurgensen) is a general highway contractor. On September 24, 2010, Jurgensen was working on a project to widen State Route 4 Bypass, in Butler County, Ohio. Sometime between 9:45 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., a dump truck driven by a subcontractor’s employee backed over a Jurgensen employee. The employee died as a result of his injuries. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance safety and health officer (CSHO) James Denton inspected Jurgensen’s worksite. As a result of his inspection, on December 8, 2010, the Secretary issued a citation to Jurgensen alleging three serious violations of the construction standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Act).
BRIEFING NOTICE The parties are requested to brief all issues presented in the Complainant’s Petition for Discretionary Review. In particular, the parties are asked to address whether the judge erred in vacating Citation 1, Item 1, which alleged a violation of 29 C.F.R. § 1926.652(a)(1) (protection of employees in excavations). The parties are advised that when the merits or characterization of an item are before the Commission for review, the appropriateness of the penalty is also subject to review. Accordingly, the parties may address the amount of the penalty if they so choose.
The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission held a public meeting on Thursday, August 30, 2012 as part of its efforts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in case resolution at the Commission level. In addition to soliciting public input, the meeting featured a panel of distinguished experts in occupational safety and health and administrative law, including Administrative Conference of the United States Chairman Paul Verkuil, Professor Mark Rothstein, and former Commissioner Gary Visscher.
DECISION On March 22, 2007, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") inspected a construction project in Chicago, Illinois, after four employees of Elliot Construction Corporation ("Elliot") were exposed to carbon monoxide ("CO"). Following the inspection, OSHA issued Elliot a three-item willful citation alleging violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 ("the Act"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 651-678. Specifically, OSHA alleged that Elliot violated standards pertaining to airborne contaminants and jobsite inspections, and proposed a total penalty of $112,000.
DECISION AND ORDER Know Thyself Contracting (KTC) is a general construction contractor for commercial and residential projects in Mobile, Alabama. On December 23, 2011, a compliance officer with the Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) observed employees, without fall protection, installing decking at an unprotected edge on the top floor of a new townhome/apartment complex. As a result of the OSHA inspection, KTC received a serious citation on January 30, 2012. KTC timely contested the citation.
