Davis H. Elliot Construction Company, Inc. v. Commisioner Of Labor and Workforce Development, et al

This appeal involves review of an administrative decision. Chattanooga‟s local utility company hired the Appellant construction company to perform preliminary work on the  utility company‟s fiber-optic internet infrastructure.  One of the Appellant‟s employees  was  injured  while  performing  this  work.  The  Tennessee  Department  of Labor  and  Workforce  Development‟s Division  of Occupational  Safety and Health  (“TOSHA”) conducted  an investigation  of the  incident. Thereafter,  on  recommendation  of the inspector, TOSHA cited the Appellant for violations of the telecommunications safety regulations.  Appellant contested the citations before the Division of Occupational Safety and  Health Review  Commission (“the  Commission”),  which  upheld the  citations. Appellant then appealed the Commission‟s decision to the Davidson County Chancery Court, which also affirmed the citations.  Appellant now appeals the Chancery Court‟s  decision  to this  Court.  We conclude that  TOSHA  erred  in  applying  the telecommunications regulation instead of the construction regulations.  Accordingly, we reverse the trial court and vacate the citations issued to Appellant construction company.