W. J. Usery, Jr., Secretary of Labor v. Hermitage Concrete Pipe Company and Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

ENGEL, Circuit Judge.

The Secretary of Labor petitions for review of an order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission which declined to enforce a citation issued by the Secretary to the Hermitage Concrete Pipe Company for a serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA), 29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq. We hold that the Commission employed an improper standard in determining whether a given violation of the Act is “serious” as that term is defined in Section 17(k) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. § 666(j), and accordingly remand the case to the Commission.

The respondent…