Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

In 1977, American Cyanamid Company (Cyanamid) adopted a fetus-protection policy that barred women of presumed childbearing capacity from holding any production job that involved occupational exposure to substances identified as toxic to fetuses. Five female production workers underwent sterilization procedures that they would not otherwise have sought so that they could retain their production jobs, and two women who refused to be sterilized were transferred to a different department with a loss of pay and benefits. The Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union (union) (plaintiff) filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and OSHA issued a citation to Cyanamid for willfully violating the general-duty clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (act). Cyanamid filed a notice of contest, and the secretary of labor (secretary) issued a formal complaint. The union elected party status under the rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (commission) (defendant). An administrative-law judge dismissed the citation, and both the union and the secretary petitioned for review by the full commission, which affirmed the dismissal. The union then filed a petition for review under § 11 of the act, which provided for any person aggrieved by an order of the commission to seek review in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The secretary opted not to seek further review. Cyanamid challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that under § 10(c) of the act, a union’s participation in enforcement proceedings was limited to contesting the reasonableness of an abatement period.