Usery v. Lacy

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge:

This appeal presents the question whether an employer can be cited for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 651-678 (1976), in the course of constructing a medium-sized apartment building, or whether his contacts with interstate commerce are too attenuated or uncertain to bring him within the Act’s coverage.

An administrative law judge dismissed the complaint against respondent on December 16, 1974, because the “Secretary has failed to meet his burden of proving that Respondent was ‘engaged in a business affecting commerce.’ ” (quoting 29…