Newbery Electric Corp. v. Occupational Safety & Health Appeals Board

Newbery Electric Corporation (Newbery) appeals from a judgment denying its petition for a writ of administrative mandamus (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5.) to compel respondent Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (Board) to vacate its order granting a petition for reconsideration. The core of this action is a citation issued by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Division) charging Newbery with a serious violation of safety regulations. On appeal, Newbery contends (1) the Board was without jurisdiction to grant the peti tion for reconsideration as the Board failed to take action on the petition within the requisite statutory period, and (2) the Board’s decision on reconsideration upholding the citation charging a serious violation is not supported by substantial evidence.

On June 24, 1977, Dan Kane, an electrician employed by Newbery, arrived at his assigned work site to complete the relocation of a street light on a public street. The concrete base for the street light had previously been installed directly under a three-wire overhead high voltage power line, a site designated by Southern California Edison, the customer for whom the street lights were…