5th Circuit Weighs OSH Act ‘Unpreventable Misconduct’ Test In New Appeal

A Texas contracting company is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to broadly apply the OSH Act’s “unpreventable employee misconduct” defense, saying an administrative law judge (ALJ) set an unreasonably high bar for invoking it when he upheld an OSHA citation for trench-safety violations against the firm. “[I]gnoring Congress’ intent, the ALJ held Petitioner at fault for the result of an unpreventable, unrecognized, and explicitly admitted act of unforeseeable employee misconduct in the face of overwhelming...