Long Beach Container Terminal, Inc. v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and William E. Brock, Secretary of Labor

Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) is a company providing stevedore services. LBCT petitions this court to review an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission order assessing an $800 penalty against it for violations of section 5(a)(2) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 29 U.S.C. § 654 (a)(2) (1982). The Commission held that LBCT failed to provide full protection to employees as required under the standard set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 1918.32 (b) (1984). This standard mandates the use of a safety net or other protection when employees are working on top of cargo more than eight feet high.

These enforcement proceedings arose out of a fatal accident which occurred while employees of LBCT were unlocking containers on the deck of a ship. Two employees on top of a thirty-four foot high stack of containers were working without any protective devices such as safety belts, harnesses attached to a safety line, or nets. One of the employees fell to his death.

Section 1918.32, entitled “Stowed cargo and temporary landing platforms,” provides:

LBCT argues that this safety standard was not intended to apply to cargo stored on a ship’s deck. The words of the regulation make no…