Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB3036 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 3036
5	5	To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand cov-
6	6	erage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to in-
7	7	crease penalties for high gravity violations, to adjust penalties for infla-
8	8	tion, to provide rights for victims or their family members, and for
9	9	other purposes.
10	10	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
11	11	APRIL28, 2025
12	12	Mr. C
13	13	OURTNEY(for himself, Mr. SCOTTof Virginia, Ms. OMAR, Ms.
14	14	B
15	15	ONAMICI, and Mr. NORCROSS) introduced the following bill; which was
16	16	referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
17	17	A BILL
18	18	To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
19	19	to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections
20	20	for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity
21	21	violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide
22	22	rights for victims or their family members, and for other
23	23	purposes.
24	24	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
25	25	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
26	26	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
27	27	(a) S
28	28	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
29	29	‘‘Protecting America’s Workers Act’’. 5
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32	32	•HR 3036 IH
33	33	(b) TABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1
34	34	this Act is as follows: 2
35	35	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
36	36	TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, AUTHORIZED EM-
37	37	PLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES, VOLUNTARY EMERGENCY RE-
38	38	SPONDERS, AND APPLICATION OF ACT
39	39	Sec. 101. Coverage of public employees.
40	40	Sec. 102. Authorized employee representatives.
41	41	Sec. 103. Application of Act.
42	42	TITLE II—INCREASING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS
43	43	Sec. 201. Enhanced protections from retaliation.
44	44	TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORTING, INSPECTION, AND
45	45	ENFORCEMENT
46	46	P
47	47	ARTA—DUTIES ANDSTANDARDS
48	48	Sec. 301. General duty of employers.
49	49	Sec. 302. Occupational safety and health standards.
50	50	P
51	51	ARTB—INSPECTIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, ANDRECORDKEEPING
52	52	Sec. 311. Posting of employee rights.
53	53	Sec. 312. Employer reporting of work-related injuries, illness, deaths, and hos-
54	54	pitalizations; prohibition on discouraging employee reporting.
55	55	Sec. 313. No loss of employee pay for inspections.
56	56	Sec. 314. Investigations of fatalities and significant incidents.
57	57	Sec. 315. Recordkeeping.
58	58	P
59	59	ARTC—CITATIONS
60	60	Sec. 321. Period for issuance of a citation.
61	61	Sec. 322. Prohibition on unclassified citations.
62	62	P
63	63	ARTD—RIGHTS OFVICTIMS ANDFAMILIES
64	64	Sec. 331. Rights of Victims and Families.
65	65	P
66	66	ARTE—PROCEDURE FOR ENFORCEMENT
67	67	Sec. 341. Right to contest citations and penalties.
68	68	Sec. 342. Correction of serious, willful, or repeated violations pending contest
69	69	and procedures for a stay.
70	70	Sec. 343. Inaction by the Review Commission.
71	71	Sec. 344. Conforming amendments.
72	72	P
73	73	ARTF—PENALTIES
74	74	Sec. 351. Civil penalties.
75	75	Sec. 352. Criminal penalties.
76	76	Sec. 353. Prejudgment interest.
77	77	TITLE IV—STATE PLANS
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80	80	•HR 3036 IH
81	81	Sec. 401. Concurrent enforcement authority and review of State occupational
82	82	safety and health plans.
83	83	Sec. 402. Evaluation of repeated violations in State plans.
84	84	TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
85	85	AND HEALTH
86	86	Sec. 501. Health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational
87	87	Safety and Health.
88	88	Sec. 502. Training and employee education.
89	89	TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE
90	90	Sec. 601. Effective date.
91	91	TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC 1
92	92	EMPLOYEES, AUTHORIZED 2
93	93	EMPLOYEE REPRESENTA-3
94	94	TIVES, VOLUNTARY EMER-4
95	95	GENCY RESPONDERS, AND 5
96	96	APPLICATION OF ACT 6
97	97	SEC. 101. COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. 7
98	98	(a) I
99	99	NGENERAL.—Section 3(5) of the Occupational 8
100	100	Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652(5)) is 9
101	101	amended by striking ‘‘but does not include’’ and all that 10
102	102	follows through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘in-11
103	103	cluding the United States, a State, or a political subdivi-12
104	104	sion of a State.’’. 13
105	105	(b) C
106	106	ONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be 14
107	107	construed to affect the application of section 18 of the Oc-15
108	108	cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 16
109	109	667). 17
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112	112	•HR 3036 IH
113	113	SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES. 1
114	114	Section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2
115	115	of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652) is amended by adding at the end 3
116	116	the following: 4
117	117	‘‘(15) A
118	118	UTHORIZED EMPLOYEE REPRESENTA -5
119	119	TIVE.—The term ‘authorized employee representa-6
120	120	tive’— 7
121	121	‘‘(A) means any person or organization 8
122	122	that for the purposes of this Act represents not 9
123	123	less than one employee at an establishment, fac-10
124	124	tory, plant, construction site, or other work-11
125	125	place, or other environment where work is per-12
126	126	formed by an employee for an employer; and 13
127	127	‘‘(B) includes a representative authorized 14
128	128	by employees, a representative of employees, or 15
129	129	any other representative of an employee under 16
130	130	this Act.’’. 17
131	131	SEC. 103. APPLICATION OF ACT. 18
132	132	Section 4(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health 19
133	133	Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1)) is amended— 20
134	134	(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and 21
135	135	(4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; and 22
136	136	(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 23
137	137	following: 24
138	138	‘‘(1) If a Federal agency has promulgated and is en-25
139	139	forcing a standard or regulation affecting occupational 26
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142	142	•HR 3036 IH
143	143	safety or health of some or all of the employees within 1
144	144	that agency’s regulatory jurisdiction, and the Secretary 2
145	145	determines that such a standard or regulation as promul-3
146	146	gated and the manner in which the standard or regulation 4
147	147	is being enforced provides protection to those employees 5
148	148	that is at least as effective as the protection provided to 6
149	149	those employees by this Act and the Secretary’s enforce-7
150	150	ment of this Act, the Secretary may publish a certification 8
151	151	notice in the Federal Register. The notice shall set forth 9
152	152	that determination and the reasons for the determination 10
153	153	and certify that the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to 11
154	154	that Federal agency with respect to the specified standard 12
155	155	or regulation affecting occupational safety or health. In 13
156	156	determining whether to cede jurisdiction to a Federal 14
157	157	agency, the Secretary shall seek to avoid duplication of, 15
158	158	and conflicts between, health and safety requirements. 16
159	159	Such certification shall remain in effect unless and until 17
160	160	rescinded by the Secretary. 18
161	161	‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish pro-19
162	162	cedures by which any person who may be adversely af-20
163	163	fected by a decision of the Secretary certifying that the 21
164	164	Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Federal agency 22
165	165	pursuant to paragraph (1) may petition the Secretary to 23
166	166	rescind a certification notice under such paragraph. Upon 24
167	167	receipt of such a petition, the Secretary shall investigate 25
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170	170	•HR 3036 IH
171	171	the matter involved and shall, not later than 90 days after 1
172	172	the receipt of the petition, publish a decision with respect 2
173	173	to the petition in the Federal Register. 3
174	174	‘‘(3) Any person who may be adversely affected by— 4
175	175	‘‘(A) a decision of the Secretary certifying that 5
176	176	the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Fed-6
177	177	eral agency pursuant to paragraph (1); or 7
178	178	‘‘(B) a decision of the Secretary denying a peti-8
179	179	tion to rescind such a certification notice under 9
180	180	paragraph (1), 10
181	181	may, not later than 60 days after such decision is pub-11
182	182	lished in the Federal Register, file a petition challenging 12
183	183	such decision with the United States Court of Appeals for 13
184	184	the circuit in which such person resides or such person 14
185	185	has a principal place of business, for judicial review of 15
186	186	such decision. A copy of the petition shall be forthwith 16
187	187	transmitted by the clerk of the court to the Secretary. The 17
188	188	Secretary’s decision shall be set aside if found to be arbi-18
189	189	trary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not 19
190	190	in accordance with law. 20
191	191	‘‘(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to working condi-21
192	192	tions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 22
193	193	of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.).’’. 23
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196	196	•HR 3036 IH
197	197	TITLE II—INCREASING 1
198	198	WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS 2
199	199	SEC. 201. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FROM RETALIATION. 3
200	200	(a) E
201	201	MPLOYEEACTIONS.—Section 11(c)(1) of the 4
202	202	Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 5
203	203	660(c)(1)) is amended— 6
204	204	(1) by striking ‘‘discharge’’ and all that follows 7
205	205	through ‘‘because such’’ and inserting the following: 8
206	206	‘‘discharge or cause to be discharged, or in any man-9
207	207	ner discriminate against or cause to be discriminated 10
208	208	against, any employee because— 11
209	209	‘‘(A) such’’; 12
210	210	(2) by striking ‘‘this Act or has’’ and inserting 13
211	211	the following: ‘‘this Act; 14
212	212	‘‘(B) such employee has’’; 15
213	213	(3) by striking ‘‘in any such proceeding or be-16
214	214	cause of the exercise’’ and inserting the following: 17
215	215	‘‘before Congress or in any Federal or State pro-18
216	216	ceeding related to safety or health; 19
217	217	‘‘(C) such employee has refused to violate any 20
218	218	provision of this Act; or 21
219	219	‘‘(D) of the exercise’’; and 22
220	220	(4) by inserting before the period at the end the 23
221	221	following: ‘‘, including the reporting of any injury, 24
222	222	illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, agent of 25
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225	225	•HR 3036 IH
226	226	the employer, safety and health committee involved, 1
227	227	or employee safety and health representative in-2
228	228	volved’’. 3
229	229	(b) P
230	230	ROHIBITION OFRETALIATION.—Section 11(c) 4
231	231	of such Act (29 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by striking 5
232	232	paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 6
233	233	‘‘(2) P
234	234	ROHIBITION OFRETALIATION.—(A) No person 7
235	235	shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, or in any man-8
236	236	ner discriminate against, or cause to be discriminated 9
237	237	against, an employee for refusing to perform the employ-10
238	238	ee’s duties if the employee has a reasonable apprehension 11
239	239	that performing such duties would result in serious injury 12
240	240	to, or serious impairment of the health of, the employee 13
241	241	or other employees. 14
242	242	‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the cir-15
243	243	cumstances causing the employee’s good-faith belief that 16
244	244	performing such duties would pose a safety or health haz-17
245	245	ard shall be of such a nature that a reasonable person, 18
246	246	under the circumstances confronting the employee, would 19
247	247	conclude that there is such a hazard. In order to qualify 20
248	248	for protection under this paragraph, the employee, when 21
249	249	practicable, shall have communicated or attempted to com-22
250	250	municate the safety or health concern to the employer and 23
251	251	have not received from the employer a response reasonably 24
252	252	calculated to allay such concern.’’. 25
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255	255	•HR 3036 IH
256	256	(c) PROCEDURE.—Section 11(c) of such Act (29 1
257	257	U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and 2
258	258	inserting the following: 3
259	259	‘‘(3) C
260	260	OMPLAINT.—Any employee who believes that 4
261	261	the employee has been discharged, disciplined, or other-5
262	262	wise discriminated against by any person in violation of 6
263	263	paragraph (1) or (2) may seek relief for such violation 7
264	264	by filing a complaint with the Secretary under paragraph 8
265	265	(5). 9
266	266	‘‘(4) S
267	267	TATUTE OFLIMITATIONS.— 10
268	268	‘‘(A) I
269	269	N GENERAL.—An employee may take the 11
270	270	action permitted by paragraph (3) not later than 12
271	271	180 days after the later of— 13
272	272	‘‘(i) the date on which an alleged violation 14
273	273	of paragraph (1) or (2) occurs; or 15
274	274	‘‘(ii) the date on which the employee knows 16
275	275	or should reasonably have known that such al-17
276	276	leged violation occurred. 18
277	277	‘‘(B) R
278	278	EPEAT VIOLATION.—Except in cases 19
279	279	when the employee has been discharged, a violation 20
280	280	of paragraph (1) or (2) shall be considered to have 21
281	281	occurred on the last date an alleged repeat violation 22
282	282	occurred. 23
283	283	‘‘(5) I
284	284	NVESTIGATION.— 24
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287	287	•HR 3036 IH
288	288	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee may, within 1
289	289	the time period required under paragraph (4)(A), 2
290	290	file a complaint with the Secretary alleging a viola-3
291	291	tion of paragraph (1) or (2). If the complaint alleges 4
292	292	a prima facie case, the Secretary shall conduct an 5
293	293	investigation of the allegations in the complaint, 6
294	294	which— 7
295	295	‘‘(i) shall include— 8
296	296	‘‘(I) interviewing the complainant; 9
297	297	‘‘(II) providing the respondent an op-10
298	298	portunity to— 11
299	299	‘‘(aa) submit to the Secretary a 12
300	300	written response to the complaint; and 13
301	301	‘‘(bb) meet with the Secretary to 14
302	302	present statements from witnesses or 15
303	303	provide evidence; and 16
304	304	‘‘(III) providing the complainant an 17
305	305	opportunity to— 18
306	306	‘‘(aa) receive any statements or 19
307	307	evidence provided to the Secretary; 20
308	308	‘‘(bb) meet with the Secretary; 21
309	309	and 22
310	310	‘‘(cc) rebut any statements or 23
311	311	evidence; and 24
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314	314	•HR 3036 IH
315	315	‘‘(ii) may include issuing subpoenas for the 1
316	316	purposes of such investigation. 2
317	317	‘‘(B) D
318	318	ECISION.—Not later than 90 days after 3
319	319	the filing of the complaint, the Secretary shall— 4
320	320	‘‘(i) determine whether reasonable cause 5
321	321	exists to believe that a violation of paragraph 6
322	322	(1) or (2) has occurred; and 7
323	323	‘‘(ii) issue a decision granting or denying 8
324	324	relief. 9
325	325	‘‘(6) P
326	326	RELIMINARYORDERFOLLOWINGINVESTIGA-10
327	327	TION.—If, after completion of an investigation under 11
328	328	paragraph (5)(A), the Secretary finds reasonable cause to 12
329	329	believe that a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) has oc-13
330	330	curred, the Secretary shall issue a preliminary order pro-14
331	331	viding relief authorized under paragraph (14) at the same 15
332	332	time the Secretary issues a decision under paragraph 16
333	333	(5)(B). If a de novo hearing is not requested within the 17
334	334	time period required under paragraph (7)(A)(i), such pre-18
335	335	liminary order shall be deemed a final order of the Sec-19
336	336	retary and is not subject to judicial review. 20
337	337	‘‘(7) H
338	338	EARING.— 21
339	339	‘‘(A) R
340	340	EQUEST FOR HEARING .— 22
341	341	‘‘(i) I
342	342	N GENERAL.—A de novo hearing on 23
343	343	the record before an administrative law judge 24
344	344	may be requested— 25
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347	347	•HR 3036 IH
348	348	‘‘(I) by the complainant or respondent 1
349	349	within 30 days after receiving notification 2
350	350	of a decision granting or denying relief 3
351	351	issued under paragraph (5)(B) or a pre-4
352	352	liminary order under paragraph (6), re-5
353	353	spectively; 6
354	354	‘‘(II) by the complainant within 30 7
355	355	days after the date the complaint is dis-8
356	356	missed without investigation by the Sec-9
357	357	retary under paragraph (5)(A); or 10
358	358	‘‘(III) by the complainant within 120 11
359	359	days after the date of filing the complaint, 12
360	360	if the Secretary has not issued a decision 13
361	361	under paragraph (5)(B). 14
362	362	‘‘(ii) R
363	363	EINSTATEMENT ORDER .—The re-15
364	364	quest for a hearing shall not operate to stay 16
365	365	any preliminary reinstatement order issued 17
366	366	under paragraph (6). 18
367	367	‘‘(B) P
368	368	ROCEDURES.— 19
369	369	‘‘(i) I
370	370	N GENERAL.—A hearing requested 20
371	371	under this paragraph shall be conducted expedi-21
372	372	tiously and in accordance with rules established 22
373	373	by the Secretary for hearings conducted by ad-23
374	374	ministrative law judges. 24
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377	377	•HR 3036 IH
378	378	‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS; PRODUCTION OF EVI -1
379	379	DENCE.—In conducting any such hearing, the 2
380	380	administrative law judge may issue subpoenas. 3
381	381	The respondent or complainant may request the 4
382	382	issuance of subpoenas that require the deposi-5
383	383	tion of, or the attendance and testimony of, wit-6
384	384	nesses and the production of any evidence (in-7
385	385	cluding any books, papers, documents, or re-8
386	386	cordings) relating to the matter under consider-9
387	387	ation. 10
388	388	‘‘(iii) D
389	389	ECISION.—The administrative law 11
390	390	judge shall issue a decision not later than 90 12
391	391	days after the date on which a hearing was re-13
392	392	quested under this paragraph and promptly no-14
393	393	tify, in writing, the parties and the Secretary of 15
394	394	such decision, including the findings of fact and 16
395	395	conclusions of law. If the administrative law 17
396	396	judge finds that a violation of paragraph (1) or 18
397	397	(2) has occurred, the judge shall issue an order 19
398	398	for relief under paragraph (14). If review under 20
399	399	paragraph (8) is not timely requested, such 21
400	400	order shall be deemed a final order of the Sec-22
401	401	retary that is not subject to judicial review. 23
402	402	‘‘(8) A
403	403	DMINISTRATIVEAPPEAL.— 24
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406	406	•HR 3036 IH
407	407	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 1
408	408	after the date of notification of a decision and order 2
409	409	issued by an administrative law judge under para-3
410	410	graph (7), the complainant or respondent may file, 4
411	411	with objections, an administrative appeal with an ad-5
412	412	ministrative review body designated by the Secretary 6
413	413	(referred to in this paragraph as the ‘review board’). 7
414	414	‘‘(B) S
415	415	TANDARD OF REVIEW .—In reviewing the 8
416	416	decision and order of the administrative law judge, 9
417	417	the review board shall affirm the decision and order 10
418	418	if it is determined that the factual findings set forth 11
419	419	therein are supported by substantial evidence and 12
420	420	the decision and order are made in accordance with 13
421	421	applicable law. 14
422	422	‘‘(C) D
423	423	ECISIONS.—If the review board grants 15
424	424	an administrative appeal, the review board shall 16
425	425	issue a final decision and order affirming or revers-17
426	426	ing, in whole or in part, the decision under review 18
427	427	by not later than 90 days after receipt of the admin-19
428	428	istrative appeal. If it is determined that a violation 20
429	429	of paragraph (1) or (2) has occurred, the review 21
430	430	board shall issue a final decision and order providing 22
431	431	relief authorized under paragraph (14). Such deci-23
432	432	sion and order shall constitute final agency action 24
433	433	with respect to the matter appealed. 25
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436	436	•HR 3036 IH
437	437	‘‘(9) SETTLEMENT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVEPROC-1
438	438	ESS.— 2
439	439	‘‘(A) I
440	440	N GENERAL.—At any time before 3
441	441	issuance of a final order, an investigation or pro-4
442	442	ceeding under this subsection may be terminated on 5
443	443	the basis of a settlement agreement entered into by 6
444	444	the parties. 7
445	445	‘‘(B) P
446	446	UBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS .—Nei-8
447	447	ther the Secretary, an administrative law judge, nor 9
448	448	the review board conducting a hearing under this 10
449	449	subsection shall accept a settlement that contains 11
450	450	conditions conflicting with the rights protected under 12
451	451	this Act or that are contrary to public policy, includ-13
452	452	ing a restriction on a complainant’s right to future 14
453	453	employment with employers other than the specific 15
454	454	employers named in a complaint. 16
455	455	‘‘(10) I
456	456	NACTION BY THEREVIEWBOARD ORADMIN-17
457	457	ISTRATIVELAWJUDGE.— 18
458	458	‘‘(A) I
459	459	N GENERAL.—The complainant may 19
460	460	bring a de novo action described in subparagraph 20
461	461	(B) if— 21
462	462	‘‘(i) an administrative law judge has not 22
463	463	issued a decision and order within the 90-day 23
464	464	time period required under paragraph 24
465	465	(7)(B)(iii); or 25
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468	468	•HR 3036 IH
469	469	‘‘(ii) the review board has not issued a de-1
470	470	cision and order within the 90-day time period 2
471	471	required under paragraph (8)(C). 3
472	472	‘‘(B) D
473	473	E NOVO ACTION.—Such de novo action 4
474	474	may be brought at law or equity in the United 5
475	475	States district court for the district where a violation 6
476	476	of paragraph (1) or (2) allegedly occurred or where 7
477	477	the complainant resided on the date of such alleged 8
478	478	violation. The court shall have jurisdiction over such 9
479	479	action without regard to the amount in controversy 10
480	480	and to order appropriate relief under paragraph 11
481	481	(14). Such action shall, at the request of either 12
482	482	party to such action, be tried by the court with a 13
483	483	jury. 14
484	484	‘‘(11) J
485	485	UDICIALREVIEW.— 15
486	486	‘‘(A) T
487	487	IMELY APPEAL TO THE COURT OF AP -16
488	488	PEALS.—Any party adversely affected or aggrieved 17
489	489	by a final decision and order issued under this sub-18
490	490	section may obtain review of such decision and order 19
491	491	in the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit 20
492	492	where the violation, with respect to which such final 21
493	493	decision and order was issued, allegedly occurred or 22
494	494	where the complainant resided on the date of such 23
495	495	alleged violation. To obtain such review, a party 24
496	496	shall file a petition for review not later than 60 days 25
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499	499	•HR 3036 IH
500	500	after the final decision and order was issued. Such 1
501	501	review shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5, United 2
502	502	States Code. The commencement of proceedings 3
503	503	under this subparagraph shall not, unless ordered by 4
504	504	the court, operate as a stay of the final decision and 5
505	505	order. 6
506	506	‘‘(B) L
507	507	IMITATION ON COLLATERAL ATTACK .— 7
508	508	An order and decision with respect to which review 8
509	509	may be obtained under subparagraph (A) shall not 9
510	510	be subject to judicial review in any criminal or other 10
511	511	civil proceeding. 11
512	512	‘‘(12) E
513	513	NFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—If a respondent 12
514	514	fails to comply with an order issued under this subsection, 13
515	515	the Secretary or the complainant on whose behalf the 14
516	516	order was issued may file a civil action for enforcement 15
517	517	in the United States district court for the district in which 16
518	518	the violation was found to occur to enforce such order. 17
519	519	If both the Secretary and the complainant file such action, 18
520	520	the action of the Secretary shall take precedence. The dis-19
521	521	trict court shall have jurisdiction to grant all appropriate 20
522	522	relief described in paragraph (14). 21
523	523	‘‘(13) B
524	524	URDENS OFPROOF.— 22
525	525	‘‘(A) C
526	526	RITERIA FOR DETERMINATION .—In mak-23
527	527	ing a determination or adjudicating a complaint pur-24
528	528	suant to this subsection, the Secretary, administra-25
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531	531	•HR 3036 IH
532	532	tive law judge, review board, or a court may deter-1
533	533	mine that a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) has oc-2
534	534	curred only if the complainant demonstrates that 3
535	535	any conduct described in paragraph (1) or (2) with 4
536	536	respect to the complainant was a contributing factor 5
537	537	in the adverse action alleged in the complaint. 6
538	538	‘‘(B) P
539	539	ROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding subpara-7
540	540	graph (A), a decision or order that is favorable to 8
541	541	the complainant shall not be issued in any adminis-9
542	542	trative or judicial action pursuant to this subsection 10
543	543	if the respondent demonstrates by clear and con-11
544	544	vincing evidence that the respondent would have 12
545	545	taken the same adverse action in the absence of such 13
546	546	conduct. 14
547	547	‘‘(14) R
548	548	ELIEF.— 15
549	549	‘‘(A) O
550	550	RDER FOR RELIEF .—If the Secretary, 16
551	551	administrative law judge, review board, or a court 17
552	552	determines that a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) 18
553	553	has occurred, the Secretary, administrative law 19
554	554	judge, review board, or court, respectively, shall have 20
555	555	jurisdiction to order all appropriate relief, including 21
556	556	injunctive relief, compensatory and exemplary dam-22
557	557	ages, including— 23
558	558	‘‘(i) affirmative action to abate the viola-24
559	559	tion; 25
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563	563	‘‘(ii) reinstatement without loss of position 1
564	564	or seniority, and restoration of the terms, 2
565	565	rights, conditions, and privileges associated with 3
566	566	the complainant’s employment, including oppor-4
567	567	tunities for promotions to positions with equiva-5
568	568	lent or better compensation for which the com-6
569	569	plainant is qualified; 7
570	570	‘‘(iii) compensatory and consequential 8
571	571	damages sufficient to make the complainant 9
572	572	whole (including back pay, prejudgment inter-10
573	573	est, and other damages); and 11
574	574	‘‘(iv) expungement of all warnings, rep-12
575	575	rimands, or derogatory references that have 13
576	576	been placed in paper or electronic records or 14
577	577	databases of any type relating to the actions by 15
578	578	the complainant that gave rise to the unfavor-16
579	579	able personnel action, and, at the complainant’s 17
580	580	direction, transmission of a copy of the decision 18
581	581	on the complaint to any person whom the com-19
582	582	plainant reasonably believes may have received 20
583	583	such unfavorable information. 21
584	584	‘‘(B) A
585	585	TTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS .—If the 22
586	586	Secretary or an administrative law judge, review 23
587	587	board, or court grants an order for relief under sub-24
588	588	paragraph (A), the Secretary, administrative law 25
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591	591	•HR 3036 IH
592	592	judge, review board, or court, respectively, shall as-1
593	593	sess, at the request of the employee against the em-2
594	594	ployer— 3
595	595	‘‘(i) reasonable attorneys’ fees; and 4
596	596	‘‘(ii) costs (including expert witness fees) 5
597	597	reasonably incurred, as determined by the Sec-6
598	598	retary, administrative law judge, review board, 7
599	599	or court, respectively, in connection with bring-8
600	600	ing the complaint upon which the order was 9
601	601	issued. 10
602	602	‘‘(15) P
603	603	ROCEDURALRIGHTS.—The rights and rem-11
604	604	edies provided for in this subsection may not be waived 12
605	605	by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employ-13
606	606	ment, including by any pre-dispute arbitration agreement 14
607	607	or collective bargaining agreement. 15
608	608	‘‘(16) S
609	609	AVINGS.—Nothing in this subsection shall be 16
610	610	construed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies 17
611	611	of any employee who exercises rights under any Federal 18
612	612	or State law or common law, or under any collective bar-19
613	613	gaining agreement. 20
614	614	‘‘(17) E
615	615	LECTION OFVENUE.— 21
616	616	‘‘(A) I
617	617	N GENERAL.—An employee of an em-22
618	618	ployer who is located in a State that has a State 23
619	619	plan approved under section 18 may file a complaint 24
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622	622	•HR 3036 IH
623	623	alleging a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) by such 1
624	624	employer with— 2
625	625	‘‘(i) the Secretary under paragraph (5); or 3
626	626	‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator in such 4
627	627	State. 5
628	628	‘‘(B) R
629	629	EFERRALS.—If— 6
630	630	‘‘(i) the Secretary receives a complaint 7
631	631	pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary 8
632	632	shall not refer such complaint to a State plan 9
633	633	administrator for resolution; or 10
634	634	‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator receives a 11
635	635	complaint pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), the 12
636	636	State plan administrator shall not refer such 13
637	637	complaint to the Secretary for resolution.’’. 14
638	638	(d) R
639	639	ELATION TOENFORCEMENT.—Section 17(j) of 15
640	640	such Act (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended by inserting be-16
641	641	fore the period the following: ‘‘, including the history of 17
642	642	violations under section 11(c)’’. 18
643	643	TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORT-19
644	644	ING, INSPECTION, AND EN-20
645	645	FORCEMENT 21
646	646	PART A—DUTIES AND STANDARDS 22
647	647	SEC. 301. GENERAL DUTY OF EMPLOYERS. 23
648	648	Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 24
649	649	of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)) is amended— 25
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653	653	(1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph 1
654	654	(1) to read as follows: 2
655	655	‘‘(1) shall furnish employment and a place of 3
656	656	employment that are free from recognized hazards 4
657	657	that are causing or are likely to cause death or seri-5
658	658	ous physical harm and that the employer creates or 6
659	659	controls or to which the employer exposes any em-7
660	660	ployee of the employer or any other person per-8
661	661	forming work at the place of employment; and’’; and 9
662	662	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-10
663	663	section: 11
664	664	‘‘(c) Each employee or other person exposed to a haz-12
665	665	ard in violation of subsection (a) may constitute a separate 13
666	666	violation.’’. 14
667	667	SEC. 302. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STAND-15
668	668	ARDS. 16
669	669	Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 17
670	670	of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655) is amended— 18
671	671	(1) in subsection (a)— 19
672	672	(A) by striking ‘‘Without regard’’ and in-20
673	673	serting ‘‘(1) Without regard’’; 21
674	674	(B) by striking ‘‘chapter 5’’ and inserting 22
675	675	‘‘chapters 5 and 6’’; 23
676	676	(C) by striking ‘‘shall, as soon as prac-24
677	677	ticable’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘shall— 25
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680	680	•HR 3036 IH
681	681	‘‘(A) as soon as practicable’’; 1
682	682	(D) by striking ‘‘In the’’ and inserting the 2
683	683	following: 3
684	684	‘‘(2) In the’’; 4
685	685	(E) by striking ‘‘designated employees.’’ 5
686	686	and inserting ‘‘designated employees; and’’; 6
687	687	(F) by adding after paragraph (1) (as des-7
688	688	ignated by subparagraph (A)) the following: 8
689	689	‘‘(B) not later than 2 years after the effec-9
690	690	tive date of section 601(a) of the Protecting 10
691	691	America’s Workers Act, by rule update any na-11
692	692	tional consensus standard that has been pro-12
693	693	mulgated or incorporated by reference pursuant 13
694	694	to this subsection, except that such a standard 14
695	695	shall not be updated pursuant to this subpara-15
696	696	graph, if— 16
697	697	‘‘(i) the standard has been superseded 17
698	698	by a standard promulgated pursuant to 18
699	699	subsection (b); or 19
700	700	‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines such 20
701	701	update would not result in improved health 21
702	702	or safety for specifically designated em-22
703	703	ployees.’’; and 23
704	704	(G) in paragraph (2) (as designated by 24
705	705	subparagraph (D)), by inserting ‘‘including na-25
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708	708	•HR 3036 IH
709	709	tional consensus standards, or in the event of a 1
710	710	consolidation of national consensus standards,’’ 2
711	711	after ‘‘conflict among any such standards,’’; 3
712	712	and 4
713	713	(2) by adding at the end the following: 5
714	714	‘‘(h) No standard, rule, or regulation promulgated 6
715	715	under this Act shall reduce the protection afforded by an 7
716	716	existing health or safety standard, rule, regulation, or na-8
717	717	tional consensus standard.’’. 9
718	718	PART B—INSPECTIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND 10
719	719	RECORDKEEPING 11
720	720	SEC. 311. POSTING OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. 12
721	721	Section 8(c)(1) of the Occupational Safety and 13
722	722	Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(1)) is amended by 14
723	723	adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such regu-15
724	724	lations shall include provisions requiring employers to post 16
725	725	for employees information on the protections afforded 17
726	726	under section 11(c).’’. 18
727	727	SEC. 312. EMPLOYER REPORTING OF WORK-RELATED INJU-19
728	728	RIES, ILLNESS, DEATHS, AND HOSPITALIZA-20
729	729	TIONS; PROHIBITION ON DISCOURAGING EM-21
730	730	PLOYEE REPORTING. 22
731	731	Section 8(c)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(2)) is 23
732	732	amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such regula-24
733	733	tions shall contain the following: 25
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737	737	‘‘(A) A requirement that employers promptly 1
738	738	notify the Secretary of any work-related death or 2
739	739	work-related injury or illness that results in the in- 3
740	740	patient hospitalization of any employee for medical 4
741	741	treatment, amputation, or loss of an eye. 5
742	742	‘‘(B) A prohibition on the adoption or imple-6
743	743	mentation by employers of policies or practices that 7
744	744	have the effect of discouraging accurate record-8
745	745	keeping and the reporting of work-related injuries or 9
746	746	illnesses by any employee, or in any manner dis-10
747	747	criminates or provides for adverse action against any 11
748	748	employee for reporting a work-related injury or ill-12
749	749	ness. 13
750	750	‘‘(C) A requirement that, at a minimum, em-14
751	751	ployers subject to the requirements of sections 15
752	752	1904.41 and 1902.7(d) of title 29, Code of Federal 16
753	753	Regulations (as amended by the final regulations of 17
754	754	the Department of Labor published in the Federal 18
755	755	Register on May 12, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 29624 et 19
756	756	seq.)) shall, on at least an annual basis, electroni-20
757	757	cally report to the Secretary information from the 21
758	758	records of work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses 22
759	759	required to be made and maintained under this 23
760	760	paragraph, which shall include the information re-24
761	761	quired to be made and maintained in accordance 25
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765	765	with such sections 1904.41 and 1902.7(d), and a re-1
766	766	quirement that the Secretary make such reports 2
767	767	available to the public in a searchable format. 3
768	768	‘‘(D) A requirement that each site-controlling 4
769	769	employer keep, maintain, and make available a site 5
770	770	log for all recordable injuries and illnesses occurring 6
771	771	for any employee at each work site for which the 7
772	772	employer is the site-controlling employer, including 8
773	773	employees of the site-controlling employer and others 9
774	774	who are performing work at such site (including 10
775	775	independent contractors). For purposes of this sub-11
776	776	paragraph, the term ‘site-controlling employer’ 12
777	777	means the employer that has primary control over a 13
778	778	work site at which employees of more than one em-14
779	779	ployer work, such as by hiring or coordinating the 15
780	780	work of other employers working at the site.’’. 16
781	781	SEC. 313. NO LOSS OF EMPLOYEE PAY FOR INSPECTIONS. 17
782	782	Section 8(e) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657(e)) is 18
783	783	amended by inserting after the first sentence the fol-19
784	784	lowing: ‘‘Time spent by an employee participating in or 20
785	785	aiding any such inspection shall be deemed to be hours 21
786	786	worked and no employee shall suffer any loss of wages, 22
787	787	benefits, or other terms and conditions of employment for 23
788	788	having participated in or aided any such inspection.’’. 24
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792	792	SEC. 314. INVESTIGATIONS OF FATALITIES AND SIGNIFI-1
793	793	CANT INCIDENTS. 2
794	794	Section 8 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657), as amended 3
795	795	by sections 311 through 313, is further amended by add-4
796	796	ing at the end the following new subsection: 5
797	797	‘‘(i) I
798	798	NVESTIGATION OF FATALITIES ANDSERIOUS 6
799	799	I
800	800	NCIDENTS.— 7
801	801	‘‘(1) I
802	802	N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall inves-8
803	803	tigate any significant incident or an incident result-9
804	804	ing in death that occurs in a place of employment. 10
805	805	‘‘(2) E
806	806	VIDENCE PRESERVATION .—If a signifi-11
807	807	cant incident or an incident resulting in death oc-12
808	808	curs in a place of employment, the employer shall 13
809	809	promptly notify the Secretary of the incident in-14
810	810	volved and shall take appropriate measures to pre-15
811	811	vent the destruction or alteration of any evidence 16
812	812	that would assist in investigating the incident. The 17
813	813	appropriate measures required by this paragraph do 18
814	814	not prevent an employer from taking action on a 19
815	815	worksite to prevent injury to employees or substan-20
816	816	tial damage to property or to avoid disruption of es-21
817	817	sential services necessary to public safety, provided 22
818	818	that if an employer takes such action, the employer 23
819	819	shall notify the Secretary of the action in a timely 24
820	820	fashion. 25
821	821	‘‘(3) D
822	822	EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 26
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826	826	‘‘(A) INCIDENT RESULTING IN DEATH .— 1
827	827	The term ‘incident resulting in death’ means an 2
828	828	incident that results in the death of an em-3
829	829	ployee. 4
830	830	‘‘(B) S
831	831	IGNIFICANT INCIDENT.—The term 5
832	832	‘significant incident’ means an incident that re-6
833	833	sults in the in-patient hospitalization of 2 or 7
834	834	more employees for medical treatment.’’. 8
835	835	SEC. 315. RECORDKEEPING. 9
836	836	(a) R
837	837	ULEREQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days after 10
838	838	the date of enactment of this Act, the Occupational Safety 11
839	839	and Health Administration shall issue a final rule amend-12
840	840	ing its recordkeeping regulations under section 8(c) of the 13
841	841	Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 14
842	842	657(c)) to clarify that— 15
843	843	(1) the duty to make and maintain accurate 16
844	844	records of work-related injuries and illnesses is an 17
845	845	ongoing obligation; 18
846	846	(2) the duty to make and maintain such records 19
847	847	continues for as long as the employer is required to 20
848	848	keep records of the recordable injury or illness; and 21
849	849	(3) such duty does not expire solely because the 22
850	850	employer fails to create the necessary records when 23
851	851	first required to do so. 24
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855	855	(b) AUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (a) shall be consid-1
856	856	ered a specific authorization by Congress in accordance 2
857	857	with section 801(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, with 3
858	858	respect to the issuance of a new recordkeeping rule. 4
859	859	PART C—CITATIONS 5
860	860	SEC. 321. PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE OF A CITATION. 6
861	861	Section 9(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 7
862	862	Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658(c)) is amended by adding at 8
863	863	the end the following: ‘‘For purposes of this subsection, 9
864	864	a violation continues to occur for as long as an employer 10
865	865	has not satisfied the requirements, rules, standards, or-11
866	866	ders, and regulations referenced in subsection (a).’’. 12
867	867	SEC. 322. PROHIBITION ON UNCLASSIFIED CITATIONS. 13
868	868	Section 9 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 14
869	869	of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658) is further amended by adding 15
870	870	at the end the following: 16
871	871	‘‘(d) No citation for a violation of this Act may be 17
872	872	issued, modified, or settled under this section without a 18
873	873	designation enumerated in section 17 with respect to such 19
874	874	violation.’’. 20
875	875	PART D—RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND FAMILIES 21
876	876	SEC. 331. RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND FAMILIES. 22
877	877	The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 23
878	878	U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 24
879	879	9 (29 U.S.C. 658) the following: 25
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883	883	‘‘SEC. 9A. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 1
884	884	‘‘(a) R
885	885	IGHTSBEFORE THESECRETARY.—A victim or 2
886	886	the representative of a victim, shall be afforded the right, 3
887	887	with respect to an inspection or investigation conducted 4
888	888	under section 8 to— 5
889	889	‘‘(1) meet with the Secretary regarding the in-6
890	890	spection or investigation conducted under such sec-7
891	891	tion before the Secretary’s decision to issue a cita-8
892	892	tion or take no action; 9
893	893	‘‘(2) receive, at no cost, a copy of any citation 10
894	894	or report, issued as a result of such inspection or in-11
895	895	vestigation, at the same time as the employer re-12
896	896	ceives such citation or report; 13
897	897	‘‘(3) be informed of any notice of contest or ad-14
898	898	dition of parties to the proceedings filed under sec-15
899	899	tion 10(c); and 16
900	900	‘‘(4) be provided notification of the date and 17
901	901	time or any proceedings, service of pleadings, and 18
902	902	other relevant documents, and an explanation of the 19
903	903	rights of the employer, employee and employee rep-20
904	904	resentative, and victim to participate in proceedings 21
905	905	conducted under section 10(c). 22
906	906	‘‘(b) R
907	907	IGHTSBEFORE THECOMMISSION.—Upon re-23
908	908	quest, a victim or representative of a victim shall be af-24
909	909	forded the right with respect to a work-related bodily in-25
910	910	jury or death to— 26
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914	914	‘‘(1) be notified of the time and date of any 1
915	915	proceeding before the Commission; 2
916	916	‘‘(2) receive pleadings and any decisions relat-3
917	917	ing to the proceedings; and 4
918	918	‘‘(3) be provided an opportunity to appear and 5
919	919	make a statement in accordance with the rules pre-6
920	920	scribed by the Commission. 7
921	921	‘‘(c) M
922	922	ODIFICATION OFCITATION.—Before entering 8
923	923	into an agreement to withdraw or modify a citation issued 9
924	924	as a result of an inspection or investigation of an incident 10
925	925	under section 8, the Secretary shall notify a victim or rep-11
926	926	resentative of a victim and provide the victim or represent-12
927	927	ative of a victim with an opportunity to appear and make 13
928	928	a statement before the parties conducting settlement nego-14
929	929	tiations. In lieu of an appearance, the victim or represent-15
930	930	ative of the victim may elect to submit a letter to the Sec-16
931	931	retary and the parties. 17
932	932	‘‘(d) S
933	933	ECRETARYPROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 18
934	934	establish procedures— 19
935	935	‘‘(1) to inform victims of their rights under this 20
936	936	section; and 21
937	937	‘‘(2) for the informal review of any claim of a 22
938	938	denial of such a right. 23
939	939	‘‘(e) C
940	940	OMMISSIONPROCEDURES AND CONSIDER-24
941	941	ATIONS.—The Commission shall— 25
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945	945	‘‘(1) establish procedures relating to the rights 1
946	946	of victims to be heard in proceedings before the 2
947	947	Commission; and 3
948	948	‘‘(2) in rendering any decision, provide due con-4
949	949	sideration to any statement or information provided 5
950	950	by any victim before the Commission. 6
951	951	‘‘(f) F
952	952	AMILYLIAISONS.—The Secretary shall des-7
953	953	ignate at least 1 employee at each area office of the Occu-8
954	954	pational Safety and Health Administration to serve as a 9
955	955	family liaison to— 10
956	956	‘‘(1) keep victims informed of the status of in-11
957	957	vestigations, enforcement actions, and settlement ne-12
958	958	gotiations; and 13
959	959	‘‘(2) assist victims in asserting their rights 14
960	960	under this section. 15
961	961	‘‘(g) D
962	962	EFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘victim’ 16
963	963	means— 17
964	964	‘‘(1) an employee, including a former employee, 18
965	965	who has sustained a work-related injury or illness 19
966	966	that is the subject of an inspection or investigation 20
967	967	conducted under section 8; or 21
968	968	‘‘(2) a family member (as further defined by 22
969	969	the Secretary) of a victim described in paragraph 23
970	970	(1), if— 24
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974	974	‘‘(A) the victim dies as a result of an inci-1
975	975	dent that is the subject of an inspection or in-2
976	976	vestigation conducted under section 8; or 3
977	977	‘‘(B) the victim sustains a work-related in-4
978	978	jury or illness that is the subject of an inspec-5
979	979	tion or investigation conducted under section 8, 6
980	980	and the victim because of incapacity cannot rea-7
981	981	sonably exercise the rights under this section.’’. 8
982	982	PART E—PROCEDURE FOR ENFORCEMENT 9
983	983	SEC. 341. RIGHT TO CONTEST CITATIONS AND PENALTIES. 10
984	984	Section 10(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 11
985	985	Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659(c)) is amended— 12
986	986	(1) in the first sentence— 13
987	987	(A) by inserting after ‘‘that he intends to 14
988	988	contest a citation issued under section (9)’’ the 15
989	989	following: ‘‘(or a modification of a citation 16
990	990	issued under this section)’’; 17
991	991	(B) by inserting after ‘‘the issuance of a 18
992	992	citation under section 9’’ the following: ‘‘(in-19
993	993	cluding a modification of a citation issued 20
994	994	under such section)’’; and 21
995	995	(C) by inserting after ‘‘files a notice with 22
996	996	the Secretary alleging’’ the following: ‘‘that the 23
997	997	citation fails properly to designate the violation 24
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1001	1001	as serious, willful, or repeated, that the pro-1
1002	1002	posed penalty is not adequate, or’’; 2
1003	1003	(2) by inserting after the first sentence, the fol-3
1004	1004	lowing: ‘‘The pendency of a contest before the Com-4
1005	1005	mission shall not bar the Secretary from inspecting 5
1006	1006	a place of employment or from issuing a citation 6
1007	1007	under section 9.’’; and 7
1008	1008	(3) by amending the last sentence— 8
1009	1009	(A) by inserting ‘‘employers and’’ after 9
1010	1010	‘‘Commission shall provide’’; and 10
1011	1011	(B) by inserting ‘‘, and notification of any 11
1012	1012	modification of a citation’’ before the period at 12
1013	1013	the end. 13
1014	1014	SEC. 342. CORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR RE-14
1015	1015	PEATED VIOLATIONS PENDING CONTEST AND 15
1016	1016	PROCEDURES FOR A STAY. 16
1017	1017	Section 10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 17
1018	1018	of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659) is further amended by adding 18
1019	1019	at the end the following: 19
1020	1020	‘‘(d) C
1021	1021	ORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, ORRE-20
1022	1022	PEATEDVIOLATIONSPENDINGCONTEST AND PROCE-21
1023	1023	DURES FOR ASTAY.— 22
1024	1024	‘‘(1) P
1025	1025	ERIOD PERMITTED FOR CORRECTION OF 23
1026	1026	SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR REPEATED VIOLATIONS .— 24
1027	1027	For each violation which the Secretary designates as 25
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1031	1031	serious, willful, or repeated, the period permitted for 1
1032	1032	the correction of the violation shall begin to run 2
1033	1033	upon receipt of the citation. 3
1034	1034	‘‘(2) F
1035	1035	ILING OF A MOTION OF CONTEST .—The 4
1036	1036	filing of a notice of contest by an employer— 5
1037	1037	‘‘(A) shall not operate as a stay of the pe-6
1038	1038	riod for correction of a violation designated as 7
1039	1039	serious, willful, or repeated; and 8
1040	1040	‘‘(B) may operate as a stay of the period 9
1041	1041	for correction of a violation not designated by 10
1042	1042	the Secretary as serious, willful, or repeated. 11
1043	1043	‘‘(3) C
1044	1044	RITERIA AND RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR 12
1045	1045	STAYS.— 13
1046	1046	‘‘(A) M
1047	1047	OTION FOR A STAY.—An employer 14
1048	1048	that receives a citation alleging a violation des-15
1049	1049	ignated as serious, willful, or repeated and that 16
1050	1050	files a notice of contest to the citation asserting 17
1051	1051	that the time set for abatement of the alleged 18
1052	1052	violation is unreasonable or challenging the ex-19
1053	1053	istence of the alleged violation may file with the 20
1054	1054	Commission a motion to stay the period for the 21
1055	1055	abatement of the violation. 22
1056	1056	‘‘(B) C
1057	1057	RITERIA.—In determining whether 23
1058	1058	a stay should be issued on the basis of a motion 24
1059	1059	filed under subparagraph (A), the Commission 25
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1063	1063	may grant a stay only if the employer has dem-1
1064	1064	onstrated— 2
1065	1065	‘‘(i) a substantial likelihood of success 3
1066	1066	on the areas contested under subparagraph 4
1067	1067	(A); and 5
1068	1068	‘‘(ii) that a stay will not adversely af-6
1069	1069	fect the health and safety of workers. 7
1070	1070	‘‘(C) R
1071	1071	ULES OF PROCEDURE .—The Com-8
1072	1072	mission shall develop rules of procedure for con-9
1073	1073	ducting a hearing on a motion filed under sub-10
1074	1074	paragraph (A) on an expedited basis. At a min-11
1075	1075	imum, such rules shall provide: 12
1076	1076	‘‘(i) That a hearing before an admin-13
1077	1077	istrative law judge shall occur not later 14
1078	1078	than 15 days following the filing of the 15
1079	1079	motion for a stay (unless extended at the 16
1080	1080	request of the employer), and shall provide 17
1081	1081	for a decision on the motion not later than 18
1082	1082	15 days following the hearing (unless ex-19
1083	1083	tended at the request of the employer). 20
1084	1084	‘‘(ii) That a decision of an administra-21
1085	1085	tive law judge on a motion for stay is ren-22
1086	1086	dered on a timely basis. 23
1087	1087	‘‘(iii) That if a party is aggrieved by 24
1088	1088	a decision issued by an administrative law 25
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1092	1092	judge regarding the stay, such party has 1
1093	1093	the right to file an objection with the Com-2
1094	1094	mission not later than 5 days after receipt 3
1095	1095	of the administrative law judge’s decision. 4
1096	1096	Within 10 days after receipt of the objec-5
1097	1097	tion, a Commissioner, if a quorum is seat-6
1098	1098	ed pursuant to section 12(f), shall decide 7
1099	1099	whether to grant review of the objection. 8
1100	1100	If, within 10 days after receipt of the ob-9
1101	1101	jection, no decision is made on whether to 10
1102	1102	review the decision of the administrative 11
1103	1103	law judge, the Commission declines to re-12
1104	1104	view such decision, or no quorum is seated, 13
1105	1105	the decision of the administrative law 14
1106	1106	judge shall become a final order of the 15
1107	1107	Commission. If the Commission grants re-16
1108	1108	view of the objection, the Commission shall 17
1109	1109	issue a decision regarding the stay not 18
1110	1110	later than 30 days after receipt of the ob-19
1111	1111	jection. If the Commission fails to issue 20
1112	1112	such decision within 30 days, the decision 21
1113	1113	of the administrative law judge shall be-22
1114	1114	come a final order of the Commission. 23
1115	1115	‘‘(iv) For notification to employees or 24
1116	1116	representatives of affected employees of re-25
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1120	1120	quests for such hearings and shall provide 1
1121	1121	affected employees or representatives of af-2
1122	1122	fected employees an opportunity to partici-3
1123	1123	pate as parties to such hearings.’’. 4
1124	1124	SEC. 343. INACTION BY THE REVIEW COMMISSION. 5
1125	1125	Section 10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 6
1126	1126	of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659), as amended by sections 341 and 7
1127	1127	342, is further amended by adding at the end the fol-8
1128	1128	lowing: 9
1129	1129	‘‘(e) I
1130	1130	NACTION BYREVIEWCOMMISSION.— 10
1131	1131	‘‘(1) I
1132	1132	N GENERAL.—A decision or order issued 11
1133	1133	by an administrative law judge of the Commission 12
1134	1134	for which a petition for review has been filed in a 13
1135	1135	timely manner, and for which 1 year after the Com-14
1136	1136	mission has accepted such petition and directed that 15
1137	1137	such petition be reviewed by the Commission, the 16
1138	1138	Commission has failed to issue a final decision or 17
1139	1139	order because the Commission lacks a quorum— 18
1140	1140	‘‘(A) shall be deemed a final decision or 19
1141	1141	order of the Commission; and 20
1142	1142	‘‘(B) may be appealed pursuant to section 21
1143	1143	11(a). 22
1144	1144	‘‘(2) E
1145	1145	XCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 23
1146	1146	apply with respect to motions to stay filed under 24
1147	1147	subsection (d)(3).’’. 25
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1151	1151	SEC. 344. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 1
1152	1152	(a) V
1153	1153	IOLATIONSDESIGNATED AS SERIOUS, WILL-2
1154	1154	FUL, ORREPEATED.—The first sentence of section 10(b) 3
1155	1155	of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 4
1156	1156	U.S.C. 659(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, with the excep-5
1157	1157	tion of violations designated as serious, willful, or re-6
1158	1158	peated,’’ after ‘‘(which period shall not begin to run’’. 7
1159	1159	(b) J
1160	1160	UDICIALREVIEW.—The first sentence of section 8
1161	1161	11(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 9
1162	1162	(29 U.S.C. 660(a)) is amended— 10
1163	1163	(1) by inserting ‘‘(or the failure of the Commis-11
1164	1164	sion, including an administrative law judge, to make 12
1165	1165	a timely decision on a petition for a stay or other 13
1166	1166	review)’’ after ‘‘an order’’; 14
1167	1167	(2) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting 15
1168	1168	‘‘subsection (c), (d), or (e)’’; and 16
1169	1169	(3) by inserting ‘‘(or in the case of a petition 17
1170	1170	from a final Commission order regarding a stay 18
1171	1171	under section 10(d), 15 days)’’ after ‘‘sixty days’’. 19
1172	1172	(c) F
1173	1173	AILURETOCORRECTVIOLATIONS.—Section 20
1174	1174	17(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 21
1175	1175	(29 U.S.C. 666(d)) is amended to read as follows: 22
1176	1176	‘‘(d) Any employer who fails to correct a violation 23
1177	1177	designated by the Secretary as serious, willful, or repeated 24
1178	1178	and for which a citation has been issued under section 9(a) 25
1179	1179	within the period permitted for its correction (and a stay 26
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1183	1183	has not been issued by the Commission under section 1
1184	1184	10(d)) may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than 2
1185	1185	$7,000 for each day during which such failure or violation 3
1186	1186	continues. Any employer who fails to correct any other vio-4
1187	1187	lation for which a citation has been issued under section 5
1188	1188	9(a) of this title within the period permitted for its correc-6
1189	1189	tion (which period shall not begin to run until the date 7
1190	1190	of the final order of the Commission in the case of any 8
1191	1191	review proceeding under section 10 initiated by the em-9
1192	1192	ployer in good faith and not solely for delay of avoidance 10
1193	1193	of penalties) may be assessed a civil penalty of not more 11
1194	1194	than $7,000 for each day during which such failure or vio-12
1195	1195	lation continues.’’. 13
1196	1196	PART F—PENALTIES 14
1197	1197	SEC. 351. CIVIL PENALTIES. 15
1198	1198	(a) I
1199	1199	NGENERAL.—Section 17 of the Occupational 16
1200	1200	Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666) is further 17
1201	1201	amended— 18
1202	1202	(1) in subsection (a)— 19
1203	1203	(A) by striking ‘‘$70,000’’ and inserting 20
1204	1204	‘‘$700,000’’; 21
1205	1205	(B) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 22
1206	1206	‘‘$50,000’’; and 23
1207	1207	(C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 24
1208	1208	determining whether a violation is repeated, the 25
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1212	1212	Secretary or the Commission shall consider the 1
1213	1213	employer’s history of violations under this Act 2
1214	1214	and under State occupational safety and health 3
1215	1215	plans established under section 18.’’; 4
1216	1216	(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 5
1217	1217	inserting ‘‘$70,000’’; 6
1218	1218	(3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 7
1219	1219	inserting ‘‘$15,625’’; 8
1220	1220	(4) in subsection (d), as amended by section 9
1221	1221	344(c), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ inserting ‘‘$70,000’’; 10
1222	1222	(5) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i) 11
1223	1223	and subsections (j) through (l), as subsections (f) 12
1224	1224	through (j) and subsections (l) through (n), respec-13
1225	1225	tively; and 14
1226	1226	(6) in subsection (j) (as so redesignated) by 15
1227	1227	striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$15,625’’. 16
1228	1228	(b) I
1229	1229	NFLATIONADJUSTMENT.—Section 17 of such 17
1230	1230	Act (29 U.S.C. 666), as amended by subsection (a), is fur-18
1231	1231	ther amended by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-19
1232	1232	lowing: 20
1233	1233	‘‘(e) Amounts provided under this section for civil 21
1234	1234	penalties shall be adjusted by the Secretary once each 22
1235	1235	year, not later than January 15 of such year, to account 23
1236	1236	for the percentage increase or decrease in the Consumer 24
1237	1237	Price Index for all urban consumers during such period, 25
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1241	1241	consistent with the requirements of the Federal Civil Pen-1
1242	1242	alties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 2
1243	1243	note).’’. 3
1244	1244	SEC. 352. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 4
1245	1245	(a) I
1246	1246	NGENERAL.—Section 17 of the Occupational 5
1247	1247	Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666) (as 6
1248	1248	amended by section 351) is further amended— 7
1249	1249	(1) by amending subsection (f) (as redesignated 8
1250	1250	by section 351(a)(5)) to read as follows: 9
1251	1251	‘‘(f)(1) Any employer who knowingly violates any 10
1252	1252	standard, rule, or order promulgated under section 6 of 11
1253	1253	this Act, or of any regulation prescribed under this Act, 12
1254	1254	and that violation caused or significantly contributed to 13
1255	1255	the death of any employee, shall, upon conviction, be pun-14
1256	1256	ished by a fine in accordance with title 18, United States 15
1257	1257	Code, or by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or 16
1258	1258	both, except that if the conviction is for a violation com-17
1259	1259	mitted after a first conviction of such person under this 18
1260	1260	subsection or subsection (i), punishment shall be by a fine 19
1261	1261	in accordance title 18, United States Code, or by imprison-20
1262	1262	ment for not more than 20 years, or by both. 21
1263	1263	‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em-22
1264	1264	ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 23
1265	1265	section 3 of this Act, any officer or director.’’; 24
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1269	1269	(2) by amending subsection (g) (as redesignated 1
1270	1270	by section 351(a)(5)) to read as follows: 2
1271	1271	‘‘(g) Unless otherwise authorized by this Act, any 3
1272	1272	person that knowingly gives, causes to give, or attempts 4
1273	1273	to give or cause to give, advance notice of any inspection 5
1274	1274	conducted under this Act with the intention of impeding, 6
1275	1275	interfering with, or adversely affecting the results of such 7
1276	1276	inspection, shall be fined under title 18, United States 8
1277	1277	Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.’’; 9
1278	1278	(3) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by section 10
1279	1279	351(a)(5)), by striking ‘‘fine of not more than 11
1280	1280	$10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than six 12
1281	1281	months,’’ and inserting ‘‘fine in accordance with title 13
1282	1282	18, United States Code, or by imprisonment for not 14
1283	1283	more than 5 years,’’; and 15
1284	1284	(4) by inserting after subsection (j) (as redesig-16
1285	1285	nated by section 351(a)(5)) the following: 17
1286	1286	‘‘(k)(1) Any employer who knowingly violates any 18
1287	1287	standard, rule, or order promulgated under section 6, or 19
1288	1288	any regulation prescribed under this Act, and that viola-20
1289	1289	tion caused or significantly contributed to serious bodily 21
1290	1290	harm to any employee but does not cause death to any 22
1291	1291	employee, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine in 23
1292	1292	accordance with title 18, United States Code, or by impris-24
1293	1293	onment for not more than 5 years, or by both, except that 25
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1297	1297	if the conviction is for a violation committed after a first 1
1298	1298	conviction of such person under this subsection or sub-2
1299	1299	section (e), punishment shall be by a fine in accordance 3
1300	1300	with title 18, United States Code, or by imprisonment for 4
1301	1301	not more than 10 years, or by both. 5
1302	1302	‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em-6
1303	1303	ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 7
1304	1304	section 3 of this Act, any officer or director. 8
1305	1305	‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri-9
1306	1306	ous bodily harm’ means bodily injury or illness that in-10
1307	1307	volves— 11
1308	1308	‘‘(A) a substantial risk of death; 12
1309	1309	‘‘(B) protracted unconsciousness; 13
1310	1310	‘‘(C) protracted and obvious physical disfigure-14
1311	1311	ment; or 15
1312	1312	‘‘(D) protracted loss or impairment, either tem-16
1313	1313	porary or permanent, of the function of a bodily 17
1314	1314	member, organ, or mental faculty.’’. 18
1315	1315	(b) J
1316	1316	URISDICTION FORPROSECUTIONUNDERSTATE 19
1317	1317	ANDLOCALCRIMINALLAWS.—Such section 17 (29 20
1318	1318	U.S.C. 666) is further amended by adding at the end the 21
1319	1319	following: 22
1320	1320	‘‘(o) Nothing in this Act shall preclude a State or 23
1321	1321	local law enforcement agency from conducting criminal 24
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1325	1325	prosecutions in accordance with the laws of such State or 1
1326	1326	locality.’’. 2
1327	1327	SEC. 353. PREJUDGMENT INTEREST. 3
1328	1328	Section 17(n) of the Occupational Safety and Health 4
1329	1329	Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666(n)) (as redesignated by sec-5
1330	1330	tion 351(a)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-6
1331	1331	lowing: ‘‘Pre-final order interest on such penalties shall 7
1332	1332	begin to accrue on the date the party contests a citation 8
1333	1333	issued under this Act, and shall end upon the issuance 9
1334	1334	of the final order. Such pre-final order interest shall be 10
1335	1335	calculated at the current underpayment rate determined 11
1336	1336	by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 6621 12
1337	1337	of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall be com-13
1338	1338	pounded daily. Post-final order interest shall begin to ac-14
1339	1339	crue 30 days after the date a final order of the Commis-15
1340	1340	sion or the court is issued, and shall be charged at the 16
1341	1341	rate of 8 percent per year.’’. 17
1342	1342	TITLE IV—STATE PLANS 18
1343	1343	SEC. 401. CONCURRENT ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AND 19
1344	1344	REVIEW OF STATE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 20
1345	1345	AND HEALTH PLANS. 21
1346	1346	Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 22
1347	1347	of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668) is amended— 23
1348	1348	(1) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol-24
1349	1349	lows: 25
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1353	1353	‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall, on the basis of reports 1
1354	1354	submitted by the State agency and the Secretary’s own 2
1355	1355	inspections, make a continuing evaluation of the manner 3
1356	1356	in which each State that has a plan approved under this 4
1357	1357	section is carrying out such plan. Such evaluation shall 5
1358	1358	include an assessment of whether the State continues to 6
1359	1359	meet the requirements of subsection (c) of this section and 7
1360	1360	any other criteria or indices of effectiveness specified by 8
1361	1361	the Secretary in regulations. Whenever the Secretary 9
1362	1362	finds, on the basis of such evaluation, that in the adminis-10
1363	1363	tration of the State plan there is a failure to comply sub-11
1364	1364	stantially with any provision of the State plan (or any as-12
1365	1365	surance contained therein), the Secretary shall make an 13
1366	1366	initial determination of whether the failure is of such a 14
1367	1367	nature that the plan should be withdrawn or whether the 15
1368	1368	failure is of such a nature that the State should be given 16
1369	1369	the opportunity to remedy the deficiencies, and provide no-17
1370	1370	tice of the Secretary’s findings and initial determination. 18
1371	1371	‘‘(2) If the Secretary makes an initial determination 19
1372	1372	to reassert and exercise concurrent enforcement authority 20
1373	1373	while the State is given an opportunity to remedy the defi-21
1374	1374	ciencies, the Secretary shall afford the State an oppor-22
1375	1375	tunity for a public hearing within 15 days of such request, 23
1376	1376	provided that such request is made not later than 10 days 24
1377	1377	after Secretary’s notice to the State. The Secretary shall 25
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1381	1381	review and consider the testimony, evidence, or written 1
1382	1382	comments, and not later than 30 days following such hear-2
1383	1383	ing, make a determination to affirm, reverse, or modify 3
1384	1384	the Secretary’s initial determination to reassert and exer-4
1385	1385	cise concurrent enforcement authority under sections 8, 9, 5
1386	1386	10, 13, and 17 with respect to standards promulgated 6
1387	1387	under section 6 and obligations under section 5(a). Fol-7
1388	1388	lowing such a determination by the Secretary, or in the 8
1389	1389	event that the State does not request a hearing within the 9
1390	1390	timeframe set forth in this paragraph, the Secretary may 10
1391	1391	reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement author-11
1392	1392	ity, while a final determination is pending under para-12
1393	1393	graph (3) or until the Secretary has determined that the 13
1394	1394	State has remedied the deficiencies as provided under 14
1395	1395	paragraph (4). Such determination shall be published in 15
1396	1396	the Federal Register. The procedures set forth in section 16
1397	1397	18(g) shall not apply to a determination by the Secretary 17
1398	1398	to reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement au-18
1399	1399	thority. 19
1400	1400	‘‘(3) If the Secretary makes an initial determination 20
1401	1401	that the plan should be withdrawn, the Secretary shall 21
1402	1402	provide due notice and the opportunity for a hearing. If 22
1403	1403	based on the evaluation, comments, and evidence, the Sec-23
1404	1404	retary makes a final determination that there is a failure 24
1405	1405	to comply substantially with any provision of the State 25
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1409	1409	plan (or any assurance contained therein), he shall notify 1
1410	1410	the State agency of the withdrawal of approval of such 2
1411	1411	plan and upon receipt of such notice such plan shall cease 3
1412	1412	to be in effect, but the State may retain jurisdiction in 4
1413	1413	any case commenced before the withdrawal of the plan in 5
1414	1414	order to enforce standards under the plan whenever the 6
1415	1415	issues involved do not relate to the reasons for the with-7
1416	1416	drawal of the plan. 8
1417	1417	‘‘(4) If the Secretary makes a determination that the 9
1418	1418	State should be provided the opportunity to remedy the 10
1419	1419	deficiencies, the Secretary shall provide the State an op-11
1420	1420	portunity to respond to the Secretary’s findings and the 12
1421	1421	opportunity to remedy such deficiencies within a time pe-13
1422	1422	riod established by the Secretary, not to exceed 1 year. 14
1423	1423	The Secretary may extend and revise the time period to 15
1424	1424	remedy such deficiencies, if the State’s legislature is not 16
1425	1425	in session during this 1-year time period, or if the State 17
1426	1426	demonstrates that it is not feasible to correct the defi-18
1427	1427	ciencies in the time period set by the Secretary, and the 19
1428	1428	State has a plan to correct the deficiencies within a rea-20
1429	1429	sonable time period. If the Secretary finds that the State 21
1430	1430	agency has failed to remedy such deficiencies within the 22
1431	1431	time period specified by the Secretary and that the State 23
1432	1432	plan continues to fail to comply substantially with a provi-24
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1436	1436	sion of the State plan, the Secretary shall withdraw the 1
1437	1437	State plan as provided for in paragraph (3).’’; and 2
1438	1438	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-3
1439	1439	section: 4
1440	1440	‘‘(i) Not later than 18 months after the date of enact-5
1441	1441	ment of this subsection, and again 5 years thereafter, the 6
1442	1442	Comptroller General shall complete and issue a review of 7
1443	1443	the effectiveness of State plans to develop and enforce 8
1444	1444	safety and health standards to determine if they are at 9
1445	1445	least as effective as the Federal program and to evaluate 10
1446	1446	whether the Secretary’s oversight of State plans is effec-11
1447	1447	tive. The Comptroller General’s evaluation shall assess— 12
1448	1448	‘‘(1) the effectiveness of the Secretary’s over-13
1449	1449	sight of State plans, including the indices of effec-14
1450	1450	tiveness used by the Secretary; 15
1451	1451	‘‘(2) whether the Secretary’s investigations in 16
1452	1452	response to Complaints About State Plan Adminis-17
1453	1453	tration (CASPA) are adequate, whether significant 18
1454	1454	policy issues have been identified by headquarters 19
1455	1455	and corrective actions are fully implemented by each 20
1456	1456	State; 21
1457	1457	‘‘(3) whether the formula for the distribution of 22
1458	1458	funds described in section 23(g) to State programs 23
1459	1459	is fair and adequate; and 24
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1463	1463	‘‘(4) whether State plans are as effective as the 1
1464	1464	Federal program in preventing occupational injuries, 2
1465	1465	illnesses and deaths, and investigating discrimina-3
1466	1466	tion complaints, through an evaluation of at least 20 4
1467	1467	percent of approved State plans, and which shall 5
1468	1468	cover— 6
1469	1469	‘‘(A) enforcement effectiveness, including 7
1470	1470	handling of fatalities, serious incidents and 8
1471	1471	complaints, compliance with inspection proce-9
1472	1472	dures, hazard recognition, verification of abate-10
1473	1473	ment, violation classification, citation and pen-11
1474	1474	alty issuance, including appropriate use of will-12
1475	1475	ful and repeat citations, and employee involve-13
1476	1476	ment; 14
1477	1477	‘‘(B) inspections, the number of pro-15
1478	1478	grammed health and safety inspections at pri-16
1479	1479	vate and public sector establishments, and 17
1480	1480	whether the State targets the highest hazard 18
1481	1481	private sector work sites and facilities in that 19
1482	1482	State; 20
1483	1483	‘‘(C) budget and staffing, including wheth-21
1484	1484	er the State is providing adequate budget re-22
1485	1485	sources to hire, train and retain sufficient num-23
1486	1486	bers of qualified staff, including timely filling of 24
1487	1487	vacancies; 25
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1491	1491	‘‘(D) administrative review, including the 1
1492	1492	quality of decisions, consistency with Federal 2
1493	1493	precedent, transparency of proceedings, deci-3
1494	1494	sions and records are available to the public, 4
1495	1495	adequacy of State defense, and whether the 5
1496	1496	State appropriately appeals adverse decisions; 6
1497	1497	‘‘(E) anti-discrimination, including whether 7
1498	1498	discrimination complaints are processed in a 8
1499	1499	timely manner, whether supervisors and inves-9
1500	1500	tigators are properly trained to investigate dis-10
1501	1501	crimination complaints, whether a case file re-11
1502	1502	view indicates merit cases are properly identi-12
1503	1503	fied consistent with Federal policy and proce-13
1504	1504	dure, whether employees are notified of their 14
1505	1505	rights, and whether there is an effective process 15
1506	1506	for employees to appeal the dismissal of a com-16
1507	1507	plaint; 17
1508	1508	‘‘(F) program administration, including 18
1509	1509	whether the State’s standards and policies are 19
1510	1510	at least as effective as the Federal program and 20
1511	1511	are updated in a timely manner, and whether 21
1512	1512	National Emphasis Programs that are applica-22
1513	1513	ble in such States are adopted and implemented 23
1514	1514	in a manner that is at least as effective as the 24
1515	1515	Federal program; 25
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1519	1519	‘‘(G) whether the State plan satisfies the 1
1520	1520	requirements for approval set forth in this sec-2
1521	1521	tion and its implementing regulations; and 3
1522	1522	‘‘(H) other such factors identified by the 4
1523	1523	Comptroller General, or as requested by the 5
1524	1524	Committee on Education and Workforce of the 6
1525	1525	House of Representatives or the Committee on 7
1526	1526	Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 8
1527	1527	Senate.’’. 9
1528	1528	SEC. 402. EVALUATION OF REPEATED VIOLATIONS IN 10
1529	1529	STATE PLANS. 11
1530	1530	Section 18(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 12
1531	1531	Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668(c)) is amended— 13
1532	1532	(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and 14
1533	1533	inserting a comma; 15
1534	1534	(2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 16
1535	1535	the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 17
1536	1536	(3) by adding after paragraph (8) the following 18
1537	1537	new paragraph: 19
1538	1538	‘‘(9) provides that in determining whether a 20
1539	1539	violation is repeated, the State shall consider the 21
1540	1540	employer’s violations within the State, in conjunction 22
1541	1541	with the employer’s history of violations under other 23
1542	1542	States’ occupational safety and health plans ap-24
1543	1543	proved by the Secretary and the employer’s history 25
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1547	1547	of violations in those States where the Secretary has 1
1548	1548	jurisdiction under this Act, in a manner that is at 2
1549	1549	least as effective as provided under section 17.’’. 3
1550	1550	TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 4
1551	1551	FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 5
1552	1552	AND HEALTH 6
1553	1553	SEC. 501. HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS BY THE NA-7
1554	1554	TIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL 8
1555	1555	SAFETY AND HEALTH. 9
1556	1556	Section 20(a)(6) of the Occupational Safety and 10
1557	1557	Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 669(a)(6)) is amended by 11
1558	1558	striking the second sentence and inserting the following: 12
1559	1559	‘‘The Secretary shall determine following a written request 13
1560	1560	by any employer, authorized representative of current or 14
1561	1561	former employees, physician, other Federal agency, or 15
1562	1562	State or local health department, specifying with reason-16
1563	1563	able particularity the grounds on which the request is 17
1564	1564	made, whether any substance normally found in the place 18
1565	1565	of employment has potentially toxic effects in such con-19
1566	1566	centrations as used or found or whether any physical 20
1567	1567	agents, equipment, or working condition found or used has 21
1568	1568	potentially hazardous effects; and shall submit such deter-22
1569	1569	mination both to employers and affected employees as 23
1570	1570	soon as possible.’’. 24
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1574	1574	SEC. 502. TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE EDUCATION. 1
1575	1575	Paragraph (1) of section 21(c) of the Occupational 2
1576	1576	Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 670(c)) is 3
1577	1577	amended to read as follows: ‘‘(1) provide for the establish-4
1578	1578	ment and supervision of programs for the education and 5
1579	1579	training of employers and employees in the recognition, 6
1580	1580	avoidance, and prevention of unsafe or unhealthful work-7
1581	1581	ing conditions, and employee rights and employer respon-8
1582	1582	sibilities under this Act, which shall include grant pro-9
1583	1583	grams to provide grants for nonprofit organizations (in-10
1584	1584	cluding grants to develop or expand the capacity of such 11
1585	1585	organizations to provide safety and health training, edu-12
1586	1586	cation, and related assistance to the targeted audiences, 13
1587	1587	grants for the training of employees and employers on oc-14
1588	1588	cupational safety and health hazards of particular concern 15
1589	1589	or for particular industries, or groups of workers at high 16
1590	1590	risk of injury, illness, or exposure to hazards, and grants 17
1591	1591	for the development of training materials on particular 18
1592	1592	topics), and’’. 19
1593	1593	TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 20
1594	1594	SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE DATE. 21
1595	1595	(a) G
1596	1596	ENERALRULE.—Except as provided for in sub-22
1597	1597	section (b), this Act and the amendments made by this 23
1598	1598	Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the 24
1599	1599	date of the enactment of this Act. 25
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1603	1603	(b) EXCEPTION FORSTATES ANDPOLITICALSUB-1
1604	1604	DIVISIONS.—The following are exceptions to the effective 2
1605	1605	date described in subsection (a): 3
1606	1606	(1) A State that has a State plan approved 4
1607	1607	under section 18 of the Occupational Safety and 5
1608	1608	Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667) shall amend its 6
1609	1609	State plan to conform with the requirements of this 7
1610	1610	Act and the amendments made by this Act not later 8
1611	1611	than 12 months after the date of the enactment of 9
1612	1612	this Act. The Secretary of Labor may extend the pe-10
1613	1613	riod for a State to make such amendments to its 11
1614	1614	State plan by not more than 12 months, if the 12
1615	1615	State’s legislature is not in session during the 12- 13
1616	1616	month period beginning with the date of the enact-14
1617	1617	ment of this Act. Such amendments to the State 15
1618	1618	plan shall take effect not later than 90 days after 16
1619	1619	the adoption of such amendments by such State. 17
1620	1620	(2) This Act and the amendments made by this 18
1621	1621	Act shall take effect on the date that is 36 months 19
1622	1622	after the date of the enactment of this Act with re-20
1623	1623	spect to a workplace of a State, or a political sub-21
1624	1624	division of a State, that does not have a State plan 22
1625	1625	approved under such section 18 (29 U.S.C. 667). 23
1626	1626	Æ
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