[United States Government Manual]
[May 31, 1996]
[Pages 631-633]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


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OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION

1120 Twentieth Street NW., Washington, DC 20036-3419
Phone, 202-606-5100
Chairman                                         Stuart E. Weisberg
Commissioners                                    Velma Montoya
                                                 (vacancy)
  Executive Director                             William J. Gainer
  Chief Administrative Law Judge                 Irving Sommer
  General Counsel                                Earl R. Ohman, Jr.
  Executive Secretary                            Ray H. Darling, Jr.
  Public Affairs Specialist                      Linda A. Whitsett
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The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission works to ensure the 
timely and fair resolution of cases involving the alleged exposure of 
American workers to unsafe or unhealthy working conditions.

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is an independent, 
quasi-judicial agency established by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651-678).
    The Commission is charged with ruling on cases forwarded to it by 
the Department of Labor when disagreements arise over the results of 
safety and health inspections performed by the Department's Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration. Employers have the right to dispute 
any alleged job safety or health violation found during the inspection 
by the Administration, the penalties it proposed, and the time given by 
the agency to correct any hazardous situation. Employees and 
representatives of employees may initiate a case by challenging the 
propriety of the time the Administration has allowed for correction of 
any violative condition.
    The Occupational Safety and Health Act covers virtually every 
employer in the country. Enforced by the Secretary of Labor, the act is 
an effort to reduce the incidence of personal injuries, illness, and 
deaths among working men and women in the United States that result from 
their employment. It requires employers to furnish to each of their 
employees a working environment free from recognized hazards that are 
causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to the 
employees and to comply with occupational safety and health standards 
promulgated under the act.

Activities

The Commission was created to adjudicate enforcement actions initiated 
under the act when they are contested by employers, employees, or 
representatives of employees. A case arises when a citation is issued 
against an employer as the result of an Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration inspection and it is contested within 15 working days.
    The Commission is more of a court system than a simple tribunal, for 
within the Commission there are two levels of adjudication. All cases 
that require a hearing are assigned to an administrative law judge, who 
decides the case. Ordinarily the hearing is held in the community where 
the alleged violation occurred or as close as possible. At the hearing, 
the Secretary of Labor will generally have the burden of proving the 
case. After the hearing, the judge must issue a decision, based on 
findings of fact and conclusions of law.
    A substantial number of the decisions of the judges become final 
orders of the

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Commission. However, each decision is subject to discretionary review by 
the three members of the Commission upon the direction of any one of the 
three, if done within 30 days of the filing of the decision. When that 
occurs, the Commission issues its own decision.
    Once a case is decided, any person adversely affected or aggrieved 
thereby may obtain a review of the decision in the United States Courts 
of Appeals.
    The principal office of the Commission is in Washington, DC. There 
are also three regional offices where Commission judges are stationed.

     Review Commission Judges--Occupational Safety and Health Review    
                               Commission                               
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                      City/Address                           Telephone  
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Atlanta, GA (1365 Peachtree St. NE., 30309).............    404-347-4197
Boston, MA (John W. McCormack Post Office and                           
 Courthouse, 02110).....................................    617-223-9746
Denver, CO (1050 17th St., 80265).......................    303-844-2281
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Sources of Information

Publications  Copies of the Commission's Rules of Procedure, Guide to 
the Rules of Procedure, decisions, Annual Report to the President, and 
pamphlets explaining the functions of the Commission are available from 
the Public Affairs Specialist at the Commission's Washington office.

For further information, contact the Public Affairs Specialist, 
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, 1120 Twentieth Street 
NW., Washington, DC 20036-3419. Phone, 202-606-5398. Fax, 202-606-5050.

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