Judge Upholds Use Of General Duty Clause In Stampeding Case, Longer Fight Looms

An administrative law judge (ALJ) has upheld an OSHA citation under the OSH Act general duty clause over an alleged crowd management hazard, possibly setting up a protracted legal battle over the agency's increased reliance on its broad authority in cases where the agency has no specific standards. The judge rejected arguments by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., against use of the clause, which was cited following a worker death in November 2008. OSHA released a statement Friday lauding the decision by Chief Administrative Law Judge Covette Rooney, of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission