Third Circuit Overrules Commission On Proof of Exposure in Asbestos Cases

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission abused its discretion when it reduced the secretary of labor’s asbestos-exposure citations against ConocoPhillips from serious to other-than-serious, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Aug. 16 (Secretary of Labor v. ConocoPhillips Bayway Refinery).

According to the court, the commission reduced the citation against ConocoPhillips because the Labor Department did not present case-specific evidence that employees were exposed to asbestos. In vacating the commission’s ruling, the appeals court stated that the department did not have to present such evidence.

Following an inspection of a ConocoPhillips refinery in Linden, ...