I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1648 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide rights for victims or their family members, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 18, 2013 

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. TITUS, 

Mr. HOLT, Mr. NADLER, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Ms. DELAURO, 

and Mr. PAYNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections 

for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity 

violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide 

rights for victims or their family members, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Protecting America’s Workers Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES AND APPLICATION 

OF ACT 

Sec. 101. Coverage of public employees. 

Sec. 102. Application of Act. 

TITLE II—INCREASING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 201. Enhanced protections from retaliation. 

TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORTING, INSPECTION, AND 

ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 301. General duty of employers. 

Sec. 302. Posting of employee rights. 

Sec. 303. Employer reporting of work-related injuries, illnesses, deaths and hospitalizations; prohibition on discouraging employee reporting. 

Sec. 304. No loss of employee pay for inspections. 

Sec. 305. Investigations of fatalities and significant incidents. 

Sec. 306. Prohibition on unclassified citations. 

Sec. 307. Victims’ rights. 

Sec. 308. Right to contest citations and penalties. 

Sec. 309. Correction of serious, willful, or repeated violations pending contest 

and procedures for a stay. 

Sec. 310. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 311. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 312. Criminal penalties. 

Sec. 313. Prejudgment interest. 

TITLE IV—STATE PLANS 

Sec. 401. Concurrent enforcement authority and review of State occupational 

safety and health plans. 

Sec. 402. Evaluation of Repeated Violations in State Plans. 

TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

AND HEALTH 

Sec. 501. Health Hazard Evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 601. Effective date. 


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1 TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC 

2 EMPLOYEES AND APPLICA3 TION OF ACT 

4 SEC. 101. COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(5) of the Occupational 

6 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652(5)) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘but does not include’’ and all that 

8 follows through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘in9 cluding the United States, a State, or a political subdivi10 sion of a State.’’. 

11 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

12 construed to affect the application of section 18 of the Oc13 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

14 667). 

15 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF ACT. 

16 Section 4(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

17 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1)) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and 

19 (4) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; and 

20 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(1) If a Federal agency has promulgated and is en23 forcing a standard or regulation affecting occupational 

24 safety or health of some or all of the employees within 

25 that agency’s regulatory jurisdiction, and the Secretary 


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1 determines that such a standard or regulation as promul2 gated and the manner in which the standard or regulation 

3 is being enforced provides protection to those employees 

4 that is at least as effective as the protection provided to 

5 those employees by this Act and the Secretary’s enforce6 ment of this Act, the Secretary may publish a certification 

7 notice in the Federal Register. The notice shall set forth 

8 that determination and the reasons for the determination 

9 and certify that the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to 

10 that Federal agency with respect to the specified standard 

11 or regulation affecting occupational safety or health. In 

12 determining whether to cede jurisdiction to a Federal 

13 agency, the Secretary shall seek to avoid duplication of, 

14 and conflicts between, health and safety requirements. 

15 Such certification shall remain in effect unless and until 

16 rescinded by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish pro18 cedures by which any person who may be adversely af19 fected by a decision of the Secretary certifying that the 

20 Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Federal agency 

21 pursuant to paragraph (1) may petition the Secretary to 

22 rescind a certification notice under paragraph (1). Upon 

23 receipt of such a petition, the Secretary shall investigate 

24 the matter involved and shall, within 90 days after receipt 


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1 of the petition, publish a decision with respect to the peti2 tion in the Federal Register. 

3 ‘‘(3) Any person who may be adversely affected by— 

4 ‘‘(A) a decision of the Secretary certifying that 

5 the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Fed6 eral agency pursuant to paragraph (1); or 

7 ‘‘(B) a decision of the Secretary denying a peti8 tion to rescind such a certification notice under 

9 paragraph (1), 

10 may, not later than 60 days after such decision is pub11 lished in the Federal Register, file a petition challenging 

12 such decision with the United States court of appeals for 

13 the circuit in which such person resides or such person 

14 has a principal place of business, for judicial review of 

15 such decision. A copy of the petition shall be forthwith 

16 transmitted by the clerk of the court to the Secretary. The 

17 Secretary’s decision shall be set aside if found to be arbi18 trary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not 

19 in accordance with law. 

20 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to working condi21 tions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

22 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.).’’. 


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1 TITLE II—INCREASING 

2 WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS 

3 SEC. 201. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FROM RETALIATION. 

4 (a) EMPLOYEE ACTIONS.—Section 11(c)(1) of the 

5 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

6 660(c)(1)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘discharge’’ and all that follows 

8 through ‘‘because such’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘discharge or cause to be discharged, or in any man10 ner discriminate against or cause to be discriminated 

11 against, any employee because— 

12 ‘‘(A) such’’; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘this Act or has’’ and inserting 

14 the following: ‘‘this Act; 

15 ‘‘(B) such employee has’’; 

16 (3) by striking ‘‘in any such proceeding or be17 cause of the exercise’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘before Congress or in any Federal or State pro19 ceeding related to safety or health; 

20 ‘‘(C) such employee has refused to violate any 

21 provision of this Act; or 

22 ‘‘(D) of the exercise’’; and 

23 (4) by inserting before the period at the end the 

24 following: ‘‘, including the reporting of any injury, 

25 illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, agent of 


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1 the employer, safety and health committee involved, 

2 or employee safety and health representative in3 volved’’. 

4 (b) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATION.—Section 11(c) 

5 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by striking 

6 paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATION.—(A) No 

8 person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, or 

9 in any manner discriminate against, or cause to be 

10 discriminated against, an employee for refusing to 

11 perform the employee’s duties if the employee has a 

12 reasonable apprehension that performing such duties 

13 would result in serious injury to, or serious impair14 ment of the health of, the employee or other employ15 ees. 

16 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 

17 circumstances causing the employee’s good-faith be18 lief that performing such duties would pose a safety 

19 or health hazard shall be of such a nature that a 

20 reasonable person, under the circumstances con21 fronting the employee, would conclude that there is 

22 such a hazard. In order to qualify for protection 

23 under this paragraph, the employee, when prac24 ticable, shall have communicated or attempted to 

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1 ployer and have not received from the employer a re2 sponse reasonably calculated to allay such concern.’’. 

3 (c) PROCEDURE.—Section 11(c) of such Act (29 

4 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and 

5 inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) COMPLAINT.—Any employee who believes 

7 that the employee has been discharged, disciplined, 

8 or otherwise discriminated against by any person in 

9 violation of paragraph (1) or (2) may seek relief for 

10 such violation by filing a complaint with the Sec11 retary under paragraph (5). 

12 ‘‘(4) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee may take 

14 the action permitted by paragraph (3)(A) not 

15 later than 180 days after the later of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the date on which an alleged vio17 lation of paragraph (1) or (2) occurs; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the employee 

19 knows or should reasonably have known 

20 that such alleged violation occurred. 

21 ‘‘(B) REPEAT VIOLATION.—Except in 

22 cases when the employee has been discharged, 

23 a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) shall be con24 sidered to have occurred on the last date an al25 leged repeat violation occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(5) INVESTIGATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee may, 

3 within the time period required under para4 graph (4)(B), file a complaint with the Sec5 retary alleging a violation of paragraph (1) or 

6 (2). If the complaint alleges a prima facie case, 

7 the Secretary shall conduct an investigation of 

8 the allegations in the complaint, which— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall include— 

10 ‘‘(I) interviewing the complain11 ant; 

12 ‘‘(II) providing the respondent an 

13 opportunity to— 

14 ‘‘(aa) submit to the Sec15 retary a written response to the 

16 complaint; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) meet with the Sec18 retary to present statements from 

19 witnesses or provide evidence; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(III) providing the complainant 

22 an opportunity to— 

23 ‘‘(aa) receive any statements 

24 or evidence provided to the Sec25 retary; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) meet with the Sec2 retary; and 

3 ‘‘(cc) rebut any statements 

4 or evidence; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) may include issuing subpoenas 

6 for the purposes of such investigation. 

7 ‘‘(B) DECISION.—Not later than 90 days 

8 after the filing of the complaint, the Secretary 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) determine whether reasonable 

11 cause exists to believe that a violation of 

12 paragraph (1) or (2) has occurred; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) issue a decision granting or de14 nying relief. 

15 ‘‘(6) PRELIMINARY ORDER FOLLOWING INVES16 TIGATION.—If, after completion of an investigation 

17 under paragraph (5)(A), the Secretary finds reason18 able cause to believe that a violation of paragraph 

19 (1) or (2) has occurred, the Secretary shall issue a 

20 preliminary order providing relief authorized under 

21 paragraph (14) at the same time the Secretary 

22 issues a decision under paragraph (5)(B). If a de 

23 novo hearing is not requested within the time period 

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1 nary order shall be deemed a final order of the Sec2 retary and is not subject to judicial review. 

3 ‘‘(7) HEARING.— 

4 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR HEARING.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A de novo hearing 

6 on the record before an administrative law 

7 judge may be requested— 

8 ‘‘(I) by the complainant or re9 spondent within 30 days after receiv10 ing notification of a decision granting 

11 or denying relief issued under para12 graph (5)(B) or paragraph (6) respec13 tively; 

14 ‘‘(II) by the complainant within 

15 30 days after the date the complaint 

16 is dismissed without investigation by 

17 the Secretary under paragraph (5)(A); 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(III) by the complainant within 

20 120 days after the date of filing the 

21 complaint, if the Secretary has not 

22 issued a decision under paragraph 

23 (5)(B). 

24 ‘‘(ii) REINSTATEMENT ORDER.—The 

25 request for a hearing shall not operate to 


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1 stay any preliminary reinstatement order 

2 issued under paragraph (6). 

3 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A hearing re5 quested under this paragraph shall be con6 ducted expeditiously and in accordance 

7 with rules established by the Secretary for 

8 hearings conducted by administrative law 

9 judges. 

10 ‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS; PRODUCTION OF

11 EVIDENCE.—In conducting any such hear12 ing, the administrative law judge may issue 

13 subpoenas. The respondent or complainant 

14 may request the issuance of subpoenas 

15 that require the deposition of, or the at16 tendance and testimony of, witnesses and 

17 the production of any evidence (including 

18 any books, papers, documents, or record19 ings) relating to the matter under consid20 eration. 

21 ‘‘(iii) DECISION.—The administrative 

22 law judge shall issue a decision not later 

23 than 90 days after the date on which a 

24 hearing was requested under this para25 graph and promptly notify, in writing, the 


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1 parties and the Secretary of such decision, 

2 including the findings of fact and conclu3 sions of law. If the administrative law 

4 judge finds that a violation of paragraph 

5 (1) or (2) has occurred, the judge shall 

6 issue an order for relief under paragraph 

7 (14). If review under paragraph (8) is not 

8 timely requested, such order shall be 

9 deemed a final order of the Secretary that 

10 is not subject to judicial review. 

11 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

13 days after the date of notification of a decision 

14 and order issued by an administrative law judge 

15 under paragraph (7), the complainant or re16 spondent may file, with objections, an adminis17 trative appeal with an administrative review 

18 body designated by the Secretary (referred to in 

19 this paragraph as the ‘review board’). 

20 ‘‘(B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In review21 ing the decision and order of the administrative 

22 law judge, the review board shall affirm the de23 cision and order if it is determined that the fac24 tual findings set forth therein are supported by 


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1 substantial evidence and the decision and order 

2 are made in accordance with applicable law. 

3 ‘‘(C) DECISIONS.—If the review board 

4 grants an administrative appeal, the review 

5 board shall issue a final decision and order af6 firming or reversing, in whole or in part, the 

7 decision under review by not later than 90 days 

8 after receipt of the administrative appeal. If it 

9 is determined that a violation of paragraph (1) 

10 or (2) has occurred, the review board shall issue 

11 a final decision and order providing relief au12 thorized under paragraph (14). Such decision 

13 and order shall constitute final agency action 

14 with respect to the matter appealed. 

15 ‘‘(9) SETTLEMENT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE

16 PROCESS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At any time before 

18 issuance of a final order, an investigation or 

19 proceeding under this subsection may be termi20 nated on the basis of a settlement agreement 

21 entered into by the parties. 

22 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.— 

23 Neither the Secretary, an administrative law 

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1 ment that contains conditions conflicting with 

2 the rights protected under this Act or that are 

3 contrary to public policy, including a restriction 

4 on a complainant’s right to future employment 

5 with employers other than the specific employ6 ers named in a complaint. 

7 ‘‘(10) INACTION BY THE REVIEW BOARD OR AD8 MINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The complainant may 

10 bring a de novo action described in subpara11 graph (B) if— 

12 ‘‘(i) an administrative law judge has 

13 not issued a decision and order within the 

14 90-day time period required under para15 graph (7)(B)(iii); or 

16 ‘‘(ii) the review board has not issued 

17 a decision and order within the 90-day 

18 time period required under paragraph 

19 (8)(C). 

20 ‘‘(B) DE NOVO ACTION.—Such de novo ac21 tion may be brought at law or equity in the 

22 United States district court for the district 

23 where a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) alleg24 edly occurred or where the complainant resided 

25 on the date of such alleged violation. The court 


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1 shall have jurisdiction over such action without 

2 regard to the amount in controversy and to 

3 order appropriate relief under paragraph (14). 

4 Such action shall, at the request of either party 

5 to such action, be tried by the court with a 

6 jury. 

7 ‘‘(11) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

8 ‘‘(A) TIMELY APPEAL TO THE COURT OF

9 APPEALS.—Any party adversely affected or ag10 grieved by a final decision and order issued 

11 under this subsection may obtain review of such 

12 decision and order in the United States Court 

13 of Appeals for the circuit where the violation, 

14 with respect to which such final decision and 

15 order was issued, allegedly occurred or where 

16 the complainant resided on the date of such al17 leged violation. To obtain such review, a party 

18 shall file a petition for review not later than 60 

19 days after the final decision and order was 

20 issued. Such review shall conform to chapter 7 

21 of title 5, United States Code. The commence22 ment of proceedings under this subparagraph 

23 shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate 

24 as a stay of the final decision and order. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT2 TACK.—An order and decision with respect to 

3 which review may be obtained under subpara4 graph (A) shall not be subject to judicial review 

5 in any criminal or other civil proceeding. 

6 ‘‘(12) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—If a re7 spondent fails to comply with an order issued under 

8 this subsection, the Secretary or the complainant on 

9 whose behalf the order was issued may file a civil ac10 tion for enforcement in the United States district 

11 court for the district in which the violation was 

12 found to occur to enforce such order. If both the 

13 Secretary and the complainant file such action, the 

14 action of the Secretary shall take precedence. The 

15 district court shall have jurisdiction to grant all ap16 propriate relief described in paragraph (14). 

17 ‘‘(13) BURDENS OF PROOF.— 

18 ‘‘(A) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION.—In 

19 making a determination or adjudicating a com20 plaint pursuant to this subsection, the Sec21 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

22 or a court may determine that a violation of 

23 paragraph (1) or (2) has occurred only if the 

24 complainant demonstrates that any conduct de25 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) with respect to 


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1 the complainant was a contributing factor in 

2 the adverse action alleged in the complaint. 

3 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding sub4 paragraph (A), a decision or order that is favor5 able to the complainant shall not be issued in 

6 any administrative or judicial action pursuant 

7 to this subsection if the respondent dem8 onstrates by clear and convincing evidence that 

9 the respondent would have taken the same ad10 verse action in the absence of such conduct. 

11 ‘‘(14) RELIEF.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ORDER FOR RELIEF.—If the Sec13 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

14 or a court determines that a violation of para15 graph (1) or (2) has occurred, the Secretary, 

16 administrative law judge, review board, or 

17 court, respectively, shall have jurisdiction to 

18 order all appropriate relief, including injunctive 

19 relief, compensatory and exemplary damages, 

20 including— 

21 ‘‘(i) affirmative action to abate the 

22 violation; 

23 ‘‘(ii) reinstatement without loss of po24 sition or seniority, and restoration of the 

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1 sociated with the complainant’s employ2 ment, including opportunities for pro3 motions to positions with equivalent or bet4 ter compensation for which the complain5 ant is qualified; 

6 ‘‘(iii) compensatory and consequential 

7 damages sufficient to make the complain8 ant whole, (including back pay, prejudg9 ment interest, and other damages); and 

10 ‘‘(iv) expungement of all warnings, 

11 reprimands, or derogatory references that 

12 have been placed in paper or electronic 

13 records or databases of any type relating 

14 to the actions by the complainant that 

15 gave rise to the unfavorable personnel ac16 tion, and, at the complainant’s direction, 

17 transmission of a copy of the decision on 

18 the complaint to any person whom the 

19 complainant reasonably believes may have 

20 received such unfavorable information. 

21 ‘‘(B) ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS.—If 

22 the Secretary or an administrative law judge, 

23 review board, or court grants an order for relief 

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1 spectively, shall assess, at the request of the 

2 employee against the employer— 

3 ‘‘(i) reasonable attorneys’ fees; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) costs (including expert witness 

5 fees) reasonably incurred, as determined 

6 by the Secretary, administrative law judge, 

7 review board, or court, respectively, in con8 nection with bringing the complaint upon 

9 which the order was issued. 

10 ‘‘(15) PROCEDURAL RIGHTS.—The rights and 

11 remedies provided for in this subsection may not be 

12 waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition 

13 of employment, including by any pre-dispute arbitra14 tion agreement or collective bargaining agreement. 

15 ‘‘(16) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this subsection 

16 shall be construed to diminish the rights, privileges, 

17 or remedies of any employee who exercises rights 

18 under any Federal or State law or common law, or 

19 under any collective bargaining agreement. 

20 ‘‘(17) ELECTION OF VENUE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee of an 

22 employer who is located in a State that has a 

23 State plan approved under section 18 may file 

24 a complaint alleging a violation of paragraph 

25 (1) or (2) by such employer with— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary under paragraph 

2 (5); or 

3 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator in 

4 such State. 

5 ‘‘(B) REFERRALS.—If— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Secretary receives a complaint 

7 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), the Sec8 retary shall not refer such complaint to a 

9 State plan administrator for resolution; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator re11 ceives a complaint pursuant to subpara12 graph (A)(ii), the State plan administrator 

13 shall not refer such complaint to the Sec14 retary for resolution.’’. 

15 (d) RELATION TO ENFORCEMENT.—Section 17(j) of 

16 such Act (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended by inserting be17 fore the period the following: ‘‘, including the history of 

18 violations under section 11(c)’’. 

19 TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORT20 ING, INSPECTION, AND EN21 FORCEMENT 

22 SEC. 301. GENERAL DUTY OF EMPLOYERS. 

23 Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

24 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph 

2 (1) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) shall furnish employment and a place of 

4 employment that are free from recognized hazards 

5 that are causing or are likely to cause death or seri6 ous physical harm and that the employer creates or 

7 controls or to which the employer exposes any em8 ployee of the employer or any other person per9 forming work at the place of employment; and’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(c) Each employee or other person exposed to a haz13 ard in violation of subsection (a) may constitute a separate 

14 violation.’’. 

15 SEC. 302. POSTING OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. 

16 Section 8(c)(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(1)) is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 

18 ‘‘Such regulations shall include provisions requiring em19 ployers to post for employees information on the protec20 tions afforded under section 11(c).’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. EMPLOYER REPORTING OF WORK-RELATED INJU2 RIES, ILLNESSES, DEATHS AND HOSPITALIZA3 TIONS; PROHIBITION ON DISCOURAGING EM4 PLOYEE REPORTING. 

5 Section 8(c)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(2)) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new sen7 tences: ‘‘Such regulations shall require site-controlling em8 ployers to keep a site log for all recordable injuries and 

9 illnesses occurring among all employees on the particular 

10 site, including employees of the site-controlling employer 

11 or others who are performing work at the particular site 

12 (including independent contractors). Such regulations 

13 shall require employers to promptly notify the Secretary 

14 of any work-related death or work-related injury or illness 

15 that results in the in-patient hospitalization of an em16 ployee for medical treatment, and shall prohibit the em17 ployer from adopting or implementing policies or practices 

18 by the employer that have the effect of discouraging accu19 rate recordkeeping and the reporting of work-related inju20 ries or illnesses by any employee or in any manner dis21 criminates or provides for adverse action against any em22 ployee for reporting a work-related injury or illness. For 

23 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘site-controlling em24 ployer’ means the employer that has primary control over 

25 a work site at which employees of more than one employer 


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1 work, such as by hiring or coordinating the work of other 

2 employers working at the site.’’. 

3 SEC. 304. NO LOSS OF EMPLOYEE PAY FOR INSPECTIONS. 

4 Section 8(e) (29 U.S.C. 657(e)) is amended by insert5 ing after the first sentence the following: ‘‘Time spent by 

6 an employee participating in or aiding any such inspection 

7 shall be deemed to be hours worked and no employee shall 

8 suffer any loss of wages, benefits, or other terms and con9 ditions of employment for having participated in or aided 

10 any such inspection.’’. 

11 SEC. 305. INVESTIGATIONS OF FATALITIES AND SIGNIFI12 CANT INCIDENTS. 

13 Section 8 (29 U.S.C. 657) is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(i) INVESTIGATION OF FATALITIES AND SERIOUS

16 INCIDENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall investigate 

18 any significant incident or an incident resulting in death 

19 that occurs in a place of employment. 

20 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE PRESERVATION.—If a significant in21 cident or an incident resulting in death occurs in a place 

22 of employment, the employer shall promptly notify the 

23 Secretary of the incident involved and shall take appro24 priate measures to prevent the destruction or alteration 

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1 dent. The appropriate measures required by this para2 graph do not prevent an employer from taking action on 

3 a worksite to prevent injury to employees or substantial 

4 damage to property or to avoid disruption of essential 

5 services necessary to public safety, provided that if an em6 ployer takes such action, the employer shall notify the Sec7 retary of the action in a timely fashion. 

8 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) INCIDENT RESULTING IN DEATH.—The 

10 term ‘incident resulting in death’ means an incident 

11 that results in the death of an employee. 

12 ‘‘(B) SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT.—The term ‘sig13 nificant incident’ means an incident that results in 

14 the in-patient hospitalization of 2 or more employees 

15 for medical treatment.’’. 

16 SEC. 306. PROHIBITION ON UNCLASSIFIED CITATIONS. 

17 Section 9 (29 U.S.C. 658) is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(d) No citation for a violation of this Act may be 

20 issued, modified, or settled under this section without a 

21 designation enumerated in section 17 with respect to such 

22 violation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 307. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

2 The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is 

3 amended by inserting after section 9 (29 U.S.C. 658) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 9A. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS BEFORE THE SECRETARY.—A victim or 

7 the representative of a victim, shall be afforded the right, 

8 with respect to an inspection or investigation conducted 

9 under section 8 to— 

10 ‘‘(1) meet with the Secretary regarding the in11 spection or investigation conducted under such sec12 tion before the Secretary’s decision to issue a cita13 tion or take no action; 

14 ‘‘(2) receive, at no cost, a copy of any citation 

15 or report, issued as a result of such inspection or in16 vestigation, at the same time as the employer re17 ceives such citation or report; 

18 ‘‘(3) be informed of any notice of contest or ad19 dition of parties to the proceedings filed under sec20 tion 10(c); and 

21 ‘‘(4) be provided notification of the date and 

22 time or any proceedings, service of pleadings, and 

23 other relevant documents, and an explanation of the 

24 rights of the employer, employee and employee rep25 resentative, and victim to participate in proceedings 

26 conducted under section 10(c). 


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1 ‘‘(b) RIGHTS BEFORE THE COMMISSION.—Upon re2 quest, a victim or representative of a victim shall be af3 forded the right with respect to a work-related bodily in4 jury or death to— 

5 ‘‘(1) be notified of the time and date of any 

6 proceeding before the Commission; 

7 ‘‘(2) receive pleadings and any decisions relat8 ing to the proceedings; and 

9 ‘‘(3) be provided an opportunity to appear and 

10 make a statement in accordance with the rules pre11 scribed by the Commission. 

12 ‘‘(c) MODIFICATION OF CITATION.—Before entering 

13 into an agreement to withdraw or modify a citation issued 

14 as a result of an inspection or investigation of an incident 

15 under section 8, the Secretary shall notify a victim or rep16 resentative of a victim and provide the victim or represent17 ative of a victim with an opportunity to appear and make 

18 a statement before the parties conducting settlement nego19 tiations. In lieu of an appearance, the victim or represent20 ative of the victim may elect to submit a letter to the Sec21 retary and the parties. 

22 ‘‘(d) SECRETARY PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

23 establish procedures— 

24 ‘‘(1) to inform victims of their rights under this 

25 section; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) for the informal review of any claim of a 

2 denial of such a right. 

3 ‘‘(e) COMMISSION PROCEDURES AND CONSIDER4 ATIONS.—The Commission shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) establish procedures relating to the rights 

6 of victims to be heard in proceedings before the 

7 Commission; and 

8 ‘‘(2) in rendering any decision, provide due con9 sideration to any statement or information provided 

10 by any victim before the Commission. 

11 ‘‘(f) FAMILY LIAISONS.—The Secretary shall des12 ignate at least 1 employee at each area office of the Occu13 pational Safety and Health Administration to serve as a 

14 family liaison to— 

15 ‘‘(1) keep victims informed of the status of in16 vestigations, enforcement actions, and settlement ne17 gotiations; and 

18 ‘‘(2) assist victims in asserting their rights 

19 under this section. 

20 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘victim’ 

21 means— 

22 ‘‘(1) an employee, including a former employee, 

23 who has sustained a work-related injury or illness 

24 that is the subject of an inspection or investigation 

25 conducted under section 8; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) a family member (as further defined by 

2 the Secretary) of a victim described in paragraph 

3 (1), if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the victim dies as a result of a inci5 dent that is the subject of an inspection or in6 vestigation conducted under section 8; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the victim sustains a work-related in8 jury or illness that is the subject of an inspec9 tion or investigation conducted under section 8, 

10 and the victim because of incapacity cannot rea11 sonably exercise the rights under this section.’’. 

12 SEC. 308. RIGHT TO CONTEST CITATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

13 Section 10(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

14 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the first sentence— 

16 (A) by inserting after ‘‘that he intends to 

17 contest a citation issued under section (9)’’ the 

18 following: ‘‘(or a modification of a citation 

19 issued under this section)’’; 

20 (B) by inserting after ‘‘the issuance of a 

21 citation under section 9’’ the following: ‘‘(in22 cluding a modification of a citation issued 

23 under such section)’’; and 

24 (C) by inserting after ‘‘files a notice with 

25 the Secretary alleging’’ the following: ‘‘that the 


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1 citation fails properly to designate the violation 

2 as serious, willful, or repeated, that the pro3 posed penalty is not adequate, or’’; 

4 (2) by inserting after the first sentence, the fol5 lowing: ‘‘The pendency of a contest before the Com6 mission shall not bar the Secretary from inspecting 

7 a place of employment or from issuing a citation 

8 under section 9.’’; and 

9 (3) by amending the last sentence— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘employers and’’ after 

11 ‘‘Commission shall provide’’; and 

12 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

13 end ‘‘, and notification of any modification of a 

14 citation’’. 

15 SEC. 309. CORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR RE16 PEATED VIOLATIONS PENDING CONTEST AND 

17 PROCEDURES FOR A STAY. 

18 Section 10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

19 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) CORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR RE22 PEATED VIOLATIONS PENDING CONTEST AND PROCE23 DURES FOR A STAY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PERIOD PERMITTED FOR CORRECTION OF

25 SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR REPEATED VIOLATIONS.— 


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1 For each violation which the Secretary designates as 

2 serious, willful, or repeated, the period permitted for 

3 the correction of the violation shall begin to run 

4 upon receipt of the citation. 

5 ‘‘(2) FILING OF A MOTION OF CONTEST.—The 

6 filing of a notice of contest by an employer— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall not operate as a stay of the pe8 riod for correction of a violation designated as 

9 serious, willful, or repeated; and 

10 ‘‘(B) may operate as a stay of the period 

11 for correction of a violation not designated by 

12 the Secretary as serious, willful, or repeated. 

13 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA AND RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR

14 STAYS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) MOTION FOR A STAY.—An employer 

16 that receives a citation alleging a violation des17 ignated as serious, willful, or repeated and that 

18 files a notice of contest to the citation asserting 

19 that the time set for abatement of the alleged 

20 violation is unreasonable or challenging the ex21 istence of the alleged violation may file with the 

22 Commission a motion to stay the period for the 

23 abatement of the violation. 

24 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In determining whether 

25 a stay should be issued on the basis of a motion 


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1 filed under subparagraph (A), the Commission 

2 may grant a stay only if the employer has dem3 onstrated— 

4 ‘‘(i) a substantial likelihood of success 

5 on the areas contested under subparagraph 

6 (A); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) that a stay will not adversely af8 fect the health and safety of workers. 

9 ‘‘(C) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Com10 mission shall develop rules of procedure for con11 ducting a hearing on a motion filed under sub12 paragraph (A) on an expedited basis. At a min13 imum, such rules shall provide: 

14 ‘‘(i) That a hearing before an admin15 istrative law judge shall occur not later 

16 than 15 days following the filing of the 

17 motion for a stay (unless extended at the 

18 request of the employer), and shall provide 

19 for a decision on the motion not later than 

20 15 days following the hearing (unless ex21 tended at the request of the employer). 

22 ‘‘(ii) That a decision of an administra23 tive law judge on a motion for stay is ren24 dered on a timely basis. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) That if a party is aggrieved by 

2 a decision issued by an administrative law 

3 judge regarding the stay, such party has 

4 the right to file an objection with the Com5 mission not later than 5 days after receipt 

6 of the administrative law judge’s decision. 

7 Within 10 days after receipt of the objec8 tion, a Commissioner, if a quorum is seat9 ed pursuant to section 12(f), shall decide 

10 whether to grant review of the objection. 

11 If, within 10 days after receipt of the ob12 jection, no decision is made on whether to 

13 review the decision of the administrative 

14 law judge, the Commission declines to re15 view such decision, or no quorum is seated, 

16 the decision of the administrative law 

17 judge shall become a final order of the 

18 Commission. If the Commission grants re19 view of the objection, the Commission shall 

20 issue a decision regarding the stay not 

21 later than 30 days after receipt of the ob22 jection. If the Commission fails to issue 

23 such decision within 30 days, the decision 

24 of the administrative law judge shall be25 come a final order of the Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) For notification to employees or 

2 representatives of affected employees of re3 quests for such hearings and shall provide 

4 affected employees or representatives of af5 fected employees an opportunity to partici6 pate as parties to such hearings.’’. 

7 SEC. 310. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

8 (a) VIOLATIONS DESIGNATED AS SERIOUS, WILL9 FUL, OR REPEATED.—The first sentence of section 10(b) 

10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

11 U.S.C. 659(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, with the excep12 tion of violations designated as serious, willful, or re13 peated,’’ after ‘‘(which period shall not begin to run’’. 

14 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The first sentence of section 

15 11(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

16 (29 U.S.C. 660(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘(or the failure of the Commis18 sion, including an administrative law judge, to make 

19 a timely decision on a request for a stay under sec20 tion 10(d))’’ after ‘‘an order’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘subsections (c) and (d)’’; and 

23 (3) by inserting ‘‘(or in the case of a petition 

24 from a final Commission order regarding a stay 

25 under section 10(d), 15 days)’’ after ‘‘sixty days’’. 


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1 (c) FAILURE TO CORRECT VIOLATIONS.—Section 

2 17(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

3 (29 U.S.C. 666(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(d) Any employer who fails to correct a violation 

5 designated by the Secretary as serious, willful, or repeated 

6 and for which a citation has been issued under section 9(a) 

7 within the period permitted for its correction (and a stay 

8 has not been issued by the Commission under section 

9 10(d)) may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than 

10 $7,000 for each day during which such failure or violation 

11 continues. Any employer who fails to correct any other vio12 lation for which a citation has been issued under section 

13 9(a) of this title within the period permitted for its correc14 tion (which period shall not begin to run until the date 

15 of the final order of the Commission in the case of any 

16 review proceeding under section 10 initiated by the em17 ployer in good faith and not solely for delay of avoidance 

18 of penalties) may be assessed a civil penalty of not more 

19 than $7,000 for each day during which such failure or vio20 lation continues.’’. 

21 SEC. 311. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 of the Occupational 

23 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666) is amend24 ed— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘$70,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$120,000’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘$8,000’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 

6 determining whether a violation is repeated, the 

7 Secretary or the Commission shall consider the 

8 employer’s history of violations under this Act 

9 and under State occupational safety and health 

10 plans established under section 18. If such a 

11 willful or repeated violation caused or contrib12 uted to the death of an employee, such civil 

13 penalty amounts shall be increased to not more 

14 than $250,000 for each such violation, but not 

15 less than $50,000 for each such violation, ex16 cept that for an employer with 25 or fewer em17 ployees such penalty shall not be less than 

18 $25,000 for each such violation.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘$12,000’’; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If 

23 such a violation caused or contributed to the 

24 death of an employee, such civil penalty 

25 amounts shall be increased to not more than 


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1 $50,000 for each such violation, but not less 

2 than $20,000 for each such violation, except 

3 that for an employer with 25 or fewer employ4 ees such penalty shall not be less than $10,000 

5 for each such violation.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘$12,000’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (d), as amended, by striking 

9 ‘‘$7,000’’ each place it occurs and inserting 

10 ‘‘$12,000’’; 

11 (5) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i) 

12 as subsections (f) through (j), and subsections (j) 

13 through (l) as subsections (l) through (n) respec14 tively; and 

15 (6) in subsection (j) (as so redesignated) by 

16 striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$12,000’’. 

17 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 17 is further 

18 amended by inserting after subsection (d) the following: 

19 ‘‘(e) Amounts provided under this section for civil 

20 penalties shall be adjusted by the Secretary at least once 

21 during each 4-year period beginning January 1, 2015, to 

22 account for the percentage increase or decrease in the 

23 Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers during 

24 such period.’’. 


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1 SEC. 312. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 of the Occupational 

3 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666) (as 

4 amended by section 310) is further amended— 

5 (1) by amending subsection (f) (as redesignated 

6 by section 310) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(f)(1) Any employer who knowingly violates any 

8 standard, rule, or order promulgated under section 6 of 

9 this Act, or of any regulation prescribed under this Act, 

10 and that violation caused or significantly contributed to 

11 the death of any employee, shall, upon conviction, be pun12 ished by a fine in accordance with title 18, United States 

13 Code, or by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or 

14 both, except that if the conviction is for a violation com15 mitted after a first conviction of such person under this 

16 subsection or subsection (i), punishment shall be by a fine 

17 in accordance title 18, United States Code, or by imprison18 ment for not more than 20 years, or by both. 

19 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em20 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

21 section 3 of this Act, any officer or director.’’; 

22 (2) by amending subsection (g) (as redesignated 

23 by section 310) to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(g) Unless otherwise authorized by this Act, any 

25 person that knowingly gives, causes to give, or attempts 

26 to give or cause to give, advance notice of any inspection 


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1 conducted under this Act with the intention of impeding, 

2 interfering with, or adversely affecting the results of such 

3 inspection, shall be fined under title 18, United States 

4 Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by section 

6 310), by striking ‘‘fine of not more than $10,000, or 

7 by imprisonment for not more than six months,’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘fine in accordance with title 18, 

9 United States Code, or by imprisonment for not 

10 more than 5 years,’’; and 

11 (4) by inserting after subsection (j) (as redesig12 nated by section 310) the following: 

13 ‘‘(k)(1) Any employer who knowingly violates any 

14 standard, rule, or order promulgated under section 6, or 

15 any regulation prescribed under this Act, and that viola16 tion caused or significantly contributed to serious bodily 

17 harm to any employee but does not cause death to any 

18 employee, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine in 

19 accordance with title 18, United States Code, or by impris20 onment for not more than 5 years, or by both, except that 

21 if the conviction is for a violation committed after a first 

22 conviction of such person under this subsection or sub23 section (e), punishment shall be by a fine in accordance 

24 with title 18, United States Code, or by imprisonment for 

25 not more than 10 years, or by both. 


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1 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em2 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

3 section 3 of this Act, any officer or director. 

4 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri5 ous bodily harm’ means bodily injury or illness that in6 volves— 

7 ‘‘(A) a substantial risk of death; 

8 ‘‘(B) protracted unconsciousness; 

9 ‘‘(C) protracted and obvious physical disfigure10 ment; or 

11 ‘‘(D) protracted loss or impairment, either tem12 porary or permanent, of the function of a bodily 

13 member, organ, or mental faculty.’’. 

14 (b) JURISDICTION FOR PROSECUTION UNDER STATE

15 AND LOCAL CRIMINAL LAWS.—Such section is further 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(o) Nothing in this Act shall preclude a State or 

18 local law enforcement agency from conducting criminal 

19 prosecutions in accordance with the laws of such State or 

20 locality.’’. 

21 SEC. 313. PREJUDGMENT INTEREST. 

22 Section 17(n) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

23 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666(n)) (as redesignated by sec24 tion 310) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘Pre-final order interest on such penalties shall begin to 


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1 accrue on the date the party contests a citation issued 

2 under this Act, and shall end upon the issuance of the 

3 final order. Such pre-final order interest shall be cal4 culated at the current underpayment rate determined by 

5 the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 6621 

6 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall be com7 pounded daily. Post-final order interest shall begin to ac8 crue 30 days after the date a final order of the Commis9 sion or the court is issued, and shall be charged at the 

10 rate of 8 percent per year.’’. 

11 TITLE IV—STATE PLANS 

12 SEC. 401. CONCURRENT ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AND 

13 REVIEW OF STATE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

14 AND HEALTH PLANS. 

15 Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

16 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668) is amended— 

17 (1) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall, on the basis of reports 

20 submitted by the State agency and the Secretary’s own 

21 inspections, make a continuing evaluation of the manner 

22 in which each State that has a plan approved under this 

23 section is carrying out such plan. Such evaluation shall 

24 include an assessment of whether the State continues to 

25 meet the requirements of subsection (c) of this section and 


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1 any other criteria or indices of effectiveness specified by 

2 the Secretary in regulations. Whenever the Secretary 

3 finds, on the basis of such evaluation, that in the adminis4 tration of the State plan there is a failure to comply sub5 stantially with any provision of the State plan (or any as6 surance contained therein), the Secretary shall make an 

7 initial determination of whether the failure is of such a 

8 nature that the plan should be withdrawn or whether the 

9 failure is of such a nature that the State should be given 

10 the opportunity to remedy the deficiencies, and provide no11 tice of the Secretary’s findings and initial determination. 

12 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary makes an initial determination 

13 to reassert and exercise concurrent enforcement authority 

14 while the State is given an opportunity to remedy the defi15 ciencies, the Secretary shall afford the State an oppor16 tunity for a public hearing within 15 days of such request, 

17 provided that such request is made not later than 10 days 

18 after Secretary’s notice to the State. The Secretary shall 

19 review and consider the testimony, evidence, or written 

20 comments, and not later than 30 days following such hear21 ing, make a determination to affirm, reverse, or modify 

22 the Secretary’s initial determination to reassert and exer23 cise concurrent enforcement authority under sections 8, 9, 

24 10, 13, and 17 with respect to standards promulgated 

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1 lowing such a determination by the Secretary, or in the 

2 event that the State does not request a hearing within the 

3 timeframe set forth in this paragraph, the Secretary may 

4 reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement author5 ity, while a final determination is pending under para6 graph (3) or until the Secretary has determined that the 

7 State has remedied the deficiencies as provided under 

8 paragraph (4). Such determination shall be published in 

9 the Federal Register. The procedures set forth in section 

10 18(g) shall not apply to a determination by the Secretary 

11 to reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement au12 thority. 

13 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary makes an initial determination 

14 that the plan should be withdrawn, the Secretary shall 

15 provide due notice and the opportunity for a hearing. If 

16 based on the evaluation, comments, and evidence, the Sec17 retary makes a final determination that there is a failure 

18 to comply substantially with any provision of the State 

19 plan (or any assurance contained therein), he shall notify 

20 the State agency of the withdrawal of approval of such 

21 plan and upon receipt of such notice such plan shall cease 

22 to be in effect, but the State may retain jurisdiction in 

23 any case commenced before the withdrawal of the plan in 

24 order to enforce standards under the plan whenever the 


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1 issues involved do not relate to the reasons for the with2 drawal of the plan. 

3 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary makes a determination that the 

4 State should be provided the opportunity to remedy the 

5 deficiencies, the Secretary shall provide the State an op6 portunity to respond to the Secretary’s findings and the 

7 opportunity to remedy such deficiencies within a time pe8 riod established by the Secretary, not to exceed 1 year. 

9 The Secretary may extend and revise the time period to 

10 remedy such deficiencies, if the State’s legislature is not 

11 in session during this 1-year time period, or if the State 

12 demonstrates that it is not feasible to correct the defi13 ciencies in the time period set by the Secretary, and the 

14 State has a plan to correct the deficiencies within a rea15 sonable time period. If the Secretary finds that the State 

16 agency has failed to remedy such deficiencies within the 

17 time period specified by the Secretary and that the State 

18 plan continues to fail to comply substantially with a provi19 sion of the State plan, the Secretary shall withdraw the 

20 State plan as provided for in paragraph (3).’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(i) Not later than 18 months after the date of enact24 ment of this subsection, and again 5 years thereafter, the 

25 Comptroller General shall complete and issue a review of 


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1 the effectiveness of State plans to develop and enforce 

2 safety and health standards to determine if they are at 

3 least as effective as the Federal program and to evaluate 

4 whether the Secretary’s oversight of State plans is effec5 tive. The Comptroller General’s evaluation shall assess— 

6 ‘‘(1) the effectiveness of the Secretary’s over7 sight of State plans, including the indices of effec8 tiveness used by the Secretary; 

9 ‘‘(2) whether the Secretary’s investigations in 

10 response to Complaints About State Plan Adminis11 tration (CASPA) are adequate, whether significant 

12 policy issues have been identified by headquarters 

13 and corrective actions are fully implemented by each 

14 State; 

15 ‘‘(3) whether the formula for the distribution of 

16 funds described in section 23(g) to State programs 

17 is fair and adequate; and 

18 ‘‘(4) whether State plans are as effective as the 

19 Federal program in preventing occupational injuries, 

20 illnesses and deaths, and investigating discrimina21 tion complaints, through an evaluation of at least 20 

22 percent of approved State plans, and which shall 

23 cover— 

24 ‘‘(A) enforcement effectiveness, including 

25 handling of fatalities, serious incidents and 


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1 complaints, compliance with inspection proce2 dures, hazard recognition, verification of abate3 ment, violation classification, citation and pen4 alty issuance, including appropriate use of will5 ful and repeat citations, and employee involve6 ment; 

7 ‘‘(B) inspections, the number of pro8 grammed health and safety inspections at pri9 vate and public sector establishments, and 

10 whether the State targets the highest hazard 

11 private sector work sites and facilities in that 

12 State; 

13 ‘‘(C) budget and staffing, including wheth14 er the State is providing adequate budget re15 sources to hire, train and retain sufficient num16 bers of qualified staff, including timely filling of 

17 vacancies; 

18 ‘‘(D) administrative review, including the 

19 quality of decisions, consistency with Federal 

20 precedence, transparency of proceedings, deci21 sions and records are available to the public, 

22 adequacy of State defense, and whether the 

23 State appropriately appeals adverse decisions; 

24 ‘‘(E) anti-discrimination, including whether 

25 discrimination complaints are processed in a 


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1 timely manner, whether supervisors and inves2 tigators are properly trained to investigate dis3 crimination complaints, whether a case file re4 view indicates merit cases are properly identi5 fied consistent with Federal policy and proce6 dure, whether employees are notified of their 

7 rights, and whether there is an effective process 

8 for employees to appeal the dismissal of a com9 plaint; 

10 ‘‘(F) program administration, including 

11 whether the State’s standards and policies are 

12 at least as effective as the Federal program and 

13 are updated in a timely manner, and whether 

14 National Emphasis Programs that are applica15 ble in such States are adopted and implemented 

16 in a manner that is at least as effective as the 

17 Federal program; 

18 ‘‘(G) whether the State plan satisfies the 

19 requirements for approval set forth in this sec20 tion and its implementing regulations; and 

21 ‘‘(H) other such factors identified by the 

22 Comptroller General, or as requested by the 

23 Committee on Education and the Workforce of 

24 the House of Representatives or the Committee 


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1 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

2 the Senate.’’. 

3 SEC. 402. EVALUATION OF REPEATED VIOLATIONS IN 

4 STATE PLANS. 

5 Section 18(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

6 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668(c)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and 

8 inserting a comma; 

9 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

10 the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding after paragraph 8 the following 

12 new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(9) provides that in determining whether a 

14 violation is repeated, the State shall consider the 

15 employer’s violations within the State, in conjunction 

16 with the employer’s history of violations under other 

17 States’ occupational safety and health plans ap18 proved by the Secretary and the employer’s history 

19 of violations in those States where the Secretary has 

20 jurisdiction under this Act, in a manner that is at 

21 least as effective as provided under section 17.’’. 


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1 TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

2 FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

3 AND HEALTH 

4 SEC. 501. HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS BY THE NA5 TIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL 

6 SAFETY AND HEALTH. 

7 Section 20(a)(6) of the Occupational Safety and 

8 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 669(a)(6)) is amended by 

9 striking the second sentence and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘The Secretary shall determine following a written request 

11 by any employer, authorized representative of current or 

12 former employees, physician, other Federal agency, or 

13 State or local health department, specifying with reason14 able particularity the grounds on which the request is 

15 made, whether any substance normally found in the place 

16 of employment has potentially toxic effects in such con17 centrations as used or found or whether any physical 

18 agents, equipment, or working condition found or used has 

19 potentially hazardous effects; and shall submit such deter20 mination both to employers and affected employees as 

21 soon as possible.’’. 

22 TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

23 SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided for in sub25 section (b), this Act and the amendments made by this 


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1 Act shall take effect not later than 90 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) EXCEPTION FOR STATES AND POLITICAL SUB4 DIVISIONS.—The following are exceptions to the effective 

5 date described in subsection (a): 

6 (1) A State that has a State plan approved 

7 under section 18 (29 U.S.C. 667) shall amend its 

8 State plan to conform with the requirements of this 

9 Act and the amendments made by this Act not later 

10 than 12 months after the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act. The Secretary of Labor may extend the pe12 riod for a State to make such amendments to its 

13 State plan by not more than 12 months, if the 

14 State’s legislature is not in session during the 12- 

15 month period beginning with the date of the enact16 ment of this Act. Such amendments to the State 

17 plan shall take effect not later than 90 days after 

18 the adoption of such amendments by such State. 

19 (2) This Act and the amendments made by this 

20 Act shall take effect not later than 36 months after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act with respect 

22 to a workplace of a State, or a political subdivision 

23 of a State, that does not have a State plan approved 

24 under section 18 (29 U.S.C. 667). 

Æ 


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