The Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) is an independent federal agency that functions as an administrative court, receiving evidence, conducting hearings, and rendering decisions to settle disputes regarding citations or penalties resulting from workplace inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In recent years, concern has arisen regarding the commission’s ability to do its job in a timely fashion with just three members, as law mandates a quorum of two be present before official action can be taken, and there have been times when one or two of the positions, which must be filled by the President, have been vacant, or all three members have for varying reasons not always been available.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was signed by President Richard M. Nixon on December 29, 1970, and went into effect on April 28, 1971. It created both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC). OSHA was established as an agency within the Department of Labor, given the authority through the act to set and enforce workplace health and safety standards, and OSHRC was formed as an independent agency, to review disputes arising from assessments made by OSHA, and then deliver its own legal decisions.
Congress mandated the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission be composed of three members appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The members are to serve six-year terms, and to sit as an appellate review body, with two members of the commission constituting a quorum, and official action only to be taken on the affirmative vote of that quorum. In addition, the President is charged with selecting one of the members to be chairman, with that person then being responsible for the administrative operations of the commission, and the appointment of Administrative Law Judges.
The Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) serves as an administrative court to provide resolutions for disputes involving OSHA, employers it has charged with violations of federal safety and health standards, and employees and/or their representatives. The agency’s national headquarters is located in Washington D.C., and it also has regional offices in Atlanta and Denver.
The OSHRC becomes involved in a dispute over an OSHA ruling when it is notified by an employer, or affected employees, who are contesting a citation. The national OSHRC office creates a case file, assigns docket numbers to each contest, or new case, and alerts all affected parties by mail of the docketing of the case. The Chief Administrative Law Judge then assigns the case to another Administrative Law Judge, who travels, if necessary, to a hearing site as close as possible to where the alleged workplace violations took place, to hear, and make determinations upon the case, and any motion in connection with it. A cited employer or affected employee may appear in front of the Administrative Law Judge with or without legal counsel. Also required to be present, on behalf of the Secretary of Labor, OSHA’s representative, is a government attorney, who bears the burden of proving the violation(s).
After hearing all the evidence, the Administrative Law Judge creates a written report on his determinations, which includes whether the citation will be affirmed, modified, or vacated. That report becomes the final order of the commission within 30 days after it is submitted—unless within that period one of the parties requests that the decision be directed for review by the three OSHRC commissioners in Washington D.C. If one of the three commission members directs that the full commission review the report, they are authorized to examine all aspects of the situation, including the judge’s findings of fact, conclusions of law, penalty assessments, and abatement orders, and render a decision to affirm, modify, or vacate citations or penalties proposed by OSHA. If a party wants to appeal the decision of the OSHRC Commissioners, it may do so, to an appropriate United States Court of Appeals, within 60 days after the final decision is issued. In addition, if a review of the Administrative Law Judges is not directed, a petitioning party may also request review by an appropriate U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
All Commission and Administrative Law Judge decisions are kept on file by the Commission, and can also be accessed on, and downloaded from, the OSHRC Web site.
From the Web Site of the OSHRC:
According to the OSHRC FY 2013 Performance Budget and Justification report (pdf), the agency’s proposed budget of $11.965 million will be spent as follows:
Staff Payroll and Benefits $9,267,000
Space Rental Payments (GSA) $1,415,000
Other Services $800,000
Travel $185,000
Equipment $122,000
Communications, Utilities and Misc. $109,000
Supplies and Materials $43,000
Printing and Reproduction $17,000
Transportation of Things $7,000
Total Budget $11,965,000
The distribution of funds to the agency’s three divisions is as follows:
Commission $5,500,000
Administrative Law Judge $4,600,000
Executive Director $1,800,000
USASpending.gov reports that Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) has spent $1,522,433 during the past decade on 83 transactions for contractor services ranging from management R&D ($629,631) and publications ($221,562) to photographic equipment rentals ($104,138) and operational systems R&D ($102,031).
The top five contractors hired by OSHRC from 2002 through 2011 are:
1. Steven Scheige $240,500
2. Samuel E. Goldstein $140,848
3. Xerox Corporation $112,207
4. Networking for Future Inc. $103,844
5. The Thomson Company Inc. $102,497
The extensive amount of time it can take the commission’s three members to resolve cases has led to legislative attempts to increase their number to five. Complaints have been made that having only three members has created a case backlog, because there have been too many times the commission has been unable to act, due to either vacancies in its membership, or two members not being present to provide the necessary quorum, or a deadlock occurring among the members. Opponents to the change in commission membership size assert that authors of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 didn’t feel there was sufficient work to justify additional members, and that it has functioned with three since it began. As of 2012, the OSHRC was still limited to three members, with only two people—Thomasina Rogers and Cynthia Attwood—currently serving.
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2004
So Few Agencies, So Many Official Seats Unfilled (by Daniel Altman, New York Times)
Horace A. Thompson (2007-2009)
W. Scott Railton (2002-2007)
Thomasina V. Rogers (1999-2002)
Stuart E. Weisberg (1994-1999)
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr. (1990-1994)
Linda L. Arey (1989) (acting)
E. Ross Buckley (1984-1989)
Robert A. Rowland (1981-1984)
Timothy F. Cleary (1977-1981)
Frank R. Barnako (1975-1977); 1981 (acting)
Robert D. Moran (1971-1975)
- Table of Contents
- Overview
- History
- What it Does
- Where Does the Money Go
- Controversies
- Suggested Reforms
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