United States Fifth Circuit

In a dispute over the scope of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission-s authority to group, for penalty assessment, violations which were charged and proven on a per-instance basis, the court finds: 1) the Commission's statutory authority to assess penalties under 29 U.S.C. section 666(j) requires that it assess an appropriate penalty within the range established by section 666(a), and does not authorize the Commission to go above or below that penalty range; and 2) as a result, the Commission cannot group separately charged and proven willful offenses for the purposes of assessing a penalty.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/21/2007
• Published 02/22/2007

Judges

• EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:, Before GARZA, DeMOSS and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gary K. Stearman (argued), Charles Franklin James, Michael P. Doyle, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Washington, DC, for Chao., Ray H. Darling, Executive Sec., OSHA, Washington, DC, for OSHR Com'n., Thomas Howard Wilson (argued), Sean Michael Becker, Vinson & Elkins, Houston, TX, for Saw Pipes USA, Inc.