I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 798 

To improve protections for meatpacking workers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2023 

Mr. KHANNA (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. 

HAYES, and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 

Committees on Education and the Workforce, Oversight and Accountability, House Administration, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To improve protections for meatpacking workers, 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 Meatpacking Workers Act of 

6 2023’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—REFORMS TO PROTECT MEAT AND POULTRY 

PROCESSING WORKERS 

Subtitle A—Department of Agriculture 

Sec. 101. Rule on increased line speeds at meat and poultry establishments. 

Subtitle B—Fair Attendance Policies 

Sec. 111. Definitions. 

Sec. 112. Requirements for employers relating to no fault attendance policies 

or attendance systems. 

Sec. 113. Remedies and enforcement. 

Sec. 114. Rulemaking. 

Sec. 115. Relationship to other laws. 

Sec. 116. Waiver of State immunity. 

Sec. 117. Severability. 

Subtitle C—Occupational Safety and Health Administration Reforms 

Sec. 121. Definitions. 

Sec. 122. Ensuring compliance with employee rights to use toilet facilities at 

covered establishments. 

Sec. 123. Occupational safety and health standards to protect employees in covered establishments. 

Sec. 124. Permanent regional emphasis inspection program; expanding inspections. 

Sec. 125. Representatives during physical inspections. 

Sec. 126. Enhanced protections from retaliation. 

Sec. 127. Regulations to restore a column on required records of work-related 

musculoskeletal disorders. 

Sec. 128. Funding for additional OSHA inspectors. 

Sec. 129. OSHA reporting. 

Sec. 130. Private right of action. 

Sec. 131. Injunction proceedings. 

Subtitle D—Savings Provision 

Sec. 136. Savings provision. 

TITLE II—FARM SYSTEM REFORMS 

Sec. 201. Expanded meat and poultry processing grants. 

Sec. 202. Local Agriculture Market Program. 

Sec. 203. Restoration of mandatory country of origin labeling for beef and 

pork; inclusion of dairy products. 

Sec. 204. Definitions in Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921. 

Sec. 205. Unlawful practices. 

Sec. 206. Spot market purchases of livestock by packers. 

Sec. 207. Investigation of live poultry dealers. 

Sec. 208. Award of attorney fees. 

Sec. 209. Technical amendments. 

TITLE III—GAO REPORTS 


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Sec. 301. Review and report on fragility and national security in the food system. 

Sec. 302. Review and report on racial and ethnic disparities in meat and poultry processing. 

Sec. 303. GAO report on line speeds. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) meat and poultry slaughter and processing 

4 is a particularly dangerous occupation, with meat 

5 and poultry processing workers suffering injuries at 

6 measurably higher rates than workers in other pri7 vate sector industries; 

8 (2) meat and poultry processing workers face 

9 double the rate of amputations as the average work10 er in private industry, and injuries such as sprains, 

11 lacerations, and contusions are common among poul12 try workers; 

13 (3) meat and poultry processing workers suffer 

14 from musculoskeletal injuries, such as carpal tunnel 

15 syndrome, ‘‘trigger finger’’, tendinitis, rotator cuff 

16 injuries, lower back injuries, and chronic pain and 

17 numbness, in numbers that can exceed 50 percent of 

18 workers; 

19 (4) higher line speeds in meat and poultry proc20 essing facilities is a recognized risk factor that leads 

21 to increased risk of both laceration and musculo22 skeletal injuries; 


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1 (5) meat and poultry processing work was and 

2 continues to be particularly dangerous during the 

3 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic 

4 due to, among other factors— 

5 (A) the easily transmissible nature of the 

6 virus via aerosol and droplet; 

7 (B) the close proximity of meat processing 

8 workers; 

9 (C) cold conditions inside meat processing 

10 facilities; and 

11 (D) the pace and physical rigor of meat 

12 and poultry processing work; 

13 (6) during the COVID–19 pandemic, covered 

14 establishments have implemented policies and proce15 dures that have— 

16 (A) increased workers’ risk of exposure to 

17 SARS–CoV–2; 

18 (B) prioritized processing rates over work19 er health and welfare; and 

20 (C) caused a disparate adverse impact on 

21 Asian, Black, and Latino workers in the meat 

22 and poultry processing industry; 

23 (7) enforcement of requirements of the Occupa24 tional Safety and Health Administration in the meat 

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1 tally inadequate, especially during the COVID–19 

2 pandemic; and 

3 (8) meat and poultry processing workers are 

4 subjected to exploitative conditions and abusive be5 havior by employers— 

6 (A) including— 

7 (i) use of abusive and humiliating 

8 shouting by supervisors accusing workers 

9 of not working fast enough and harassing 

10 them to work ‘‘faster’’ and ‘‘harder’’; 

11 (ii) use of sexualized language to har12 ass women workers to work ‘‘harder’’ and 

13 ‘‘faster’’; 

14 (iii) patterns of direct sexual harass15 ment and incidents of sexual assault; and 

16 (iv) little or no accountability or re17 dress for emotional, sexualized, or psycho18 logical abuse due to— 

19 (I) weak enforcement of, and 

20 noncompliance with, discrimination 

21 protections; and 

22 (II) meat and poultry processing 

23 workers not reporting the abuse due 

24 to fear of receiving more abuse, hav25 ing their employment terminated, or 


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1 being reported to immigration en2 forcement; and 

3 (B) that lead to long-term psychological 

4 impacts, including— 

5 (i) increased feelings of anger and 

6 stress by workers pressured to work faster 

7 and more aggressively to slaughter animals 

8 on killing lines; and 

9 (ii) episodes of panic and fear by 

10 workers who were required to continue 

11 working during COVID–19 outbreaks. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) COVERED ESTABLISHMENT.—The term 

15 ‘‘covered establishment’’ means— 

16 (A) an official establishment (as defined in 

17 section 301.2 of title 9, Code of Federal Regu18 lations (or successor regulations)) that is sub19 ject to inspection under the Federal Meat In20 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and 

21 (B) an official establishment (as defined in 

22 section 381.1 of title 9, Code of Federal Regu23 lations (or successor regulations)) that is sub24 ject to inspection under the Poultry Products 

25 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.). 


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1 (2) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe2 riod’’ means the period beginning on the date of en3 actment of this Act and ending on the date that is 

4 90 days after the date on which the COVID–19 

5 emergency is lifted. 

6 (3) COVID–19 EMERGENCY.—The term 

7 ‘‘COVID–19 emergency’’ means the public health 

8 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 

10 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 

11 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 

12 (4) EMPLOYEE; EMPLOYER.—Unless otherwise 

13 specified, the terms ‘‘employee’’ and ‘‘employer’’ 

14 have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of 

15 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

16 U.S.C. 652). 

17 TITLE I—REFORMS TO PROTECT 

18 MEAT AND POULTRY PROC19 ESSING WORKERS 

20 Subtitle A—Department of 

21 Agriculture 

22 SEC. 101. RULE ON INCREASED LINE SPEEDS AT MEAT AND 

23 POULTRY ESTABLISHMENTS. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Service. 

3 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist4 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

5 Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. 

6 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

7 the Director of the National Institute for Occupa8 tional Safety and Health. 

9 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

11 (5) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 

12 Food Safety Inspection Service. 

13 (b) RULE ON WAIVERS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

15 provision of law (including regulations, including 

16 sections 303.1(h) and 381.3(b) of title 9, Code of 

17 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)), the 

18 Secretary, acting through the Administrator, shall 

19 not issue a waiver relating to line speeds at a cov20 ered establishment or inspection staffing require21 ments for a covered establishment unless the covered 

22 establishment— 

23 (A) agrees to an inspection conducted by 

24 the Assistant Secretary or the Director for the 

25 purposes of the waiver; and 


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1 (B) the Assistant Secretary or the Director 

2 certifies to the Secretary that any increases in 

3 line speed at the covered establishment would 

4 not have an adverse impact on worker safety. 

5 (2) INSPECTIONS.—An inspection conducted by 

6 the Assistant Secretary or the Director under para7 graph (1)(A) shall include— 

8 (A) an ergonomic analysis of all jobs in the 

9 applicable covered establishment that may expe10 rience an increased work pace due to increasing 

11 the number of animals being slaughtered— 

12 (i) per minute; and 

13 (ii) per hour; 

14 (B) an assessment of the current rates of 

15 musculoskeletal disorders in the covered estab16 lishment; 

17 (C) a review of current efforts at the cov18 ered establishment to mitigate those disorders, 

19 including a review of how medical personnel at 

20 the covered establishment manage those dis21 orders; and 

22 (D) a review of the impact of any proposed 

23 line speed increases on the pace of work for 

24 workers on the slaughter and production lines 


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1 of the covered establishment (including the 

2 workers that package the meat). 

3 (3) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OVER LINE

4 SPEEDS.—None of the funds made available to the 

5 Secretary during the covered period may be used to 

6 develop, propose, finalize, issue, amend, or imple7 ment any policy, regulation, directive, constituent 

8 update, or any other agency program that would in9 crease line speeds at covered establishments. 

10 (4) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection shall 

12 not preempt or limit any law or regulation of a 

13 State or a political subdivision of a State that— 

14 (i) imposes requirements that are 

15 more protective of worker safety or animal 

16 welfare than the requirements of this sub17 section; or 

18 (ii) creates penalties for conduct regu19 lated by this subsection. 

20 (B) OTHER LAWS.—The requirements of 

21 this subsection are in addition to, and not in 

22 lieu of, any other laws protecting worker safety 

23 and animal welfare. 

24 (c) TRANSPARENCY IN RULEMAKING.—With respect 

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1 trator on or after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

2 Administrator shall comply with— 

3 (1) the data quality guidelines of the Service, 

4 which state that the Service and the offices of the 

5 Service are held to a standard of transparency to en6 sure that the information shared by the Service is 

7 presented in an accurate, reliable, and unbiased 

8 manner; and 

9 (2) Executive Order 13563 (5 U.S.C. 601 note; 

10 relating to improving regulation and regulatory re11 view), which requires Federal agencies to provide 

12 timely online access to relevant scientific information 

13 in an open format that can easily be searched and 

14 downloaded during a proposed rulemaking. 

15 (d) EVALUATION OF RULEMAKING AND POLICIES.— 

16 In evaluating the impact of any future rulemaking or pol17 icy, the Secretary shall request that the Director conduct 

18 an evaluation of the rulemaking or policy that includes a 

19 review of— 

20 (1) current safety conditions and injuries and 

21 illnesses at the applicable covered establishments, in22 cluding medical exams and medical histories; 

23 (2) whether the policy proposals will increase 

24 the pace of work for any employee at the applicable 

25 covered establishments; and 


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1 (3) whether, and the extent to which, the policy 

2 proposals will impact worker safety. 

3 (e) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

5 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

6 Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary 

7 of Health and Human Services shall each submit to 

8 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For9 estry and the Committee on Health, Education, 

10 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Agriculture and the Committee on Edu12 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives, 

13 a report that— 

14 (A) describes the actions taken by that 

15 Secretary to ensure worker, animal, and food 

16 safety during the COVID–19 emergency; and 

17 (B) includes an analysis of the issues de18 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (12) of sec19 tion 303(b). 

20 (2) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF

21 RULES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

23 after the implementation of any rule relating to 

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1 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the 

2 impact of the rule on— 

3 (i) line speeds at covered establish4 ments; 

5 (ii) worker safety and health at cov6 ered establishments; 

7 (iii) ergonomic aspects of jobs at cov8 ered establishments; and 

9 (iv) staffing levels that will ensure 

10 worker safety at covered establishments. 

11 (B) REQUIREMENT.—A report under sub12 paragraph (A) shall include— 

13 (i) the results of a study carried out 

14 by an industrial engineer on every type of 

15 job at covered establishments impacted by 

16 the applicable rule; 

17 (ii) a determination of the industrial 

18 engineer of the number of workers need19 ed— 

20 (I) to do each job safely; and 

21 (II) to operate the covered estab22 lishment at different line speeds; and 

23 (iii) a job crewing report prepared by 

24 the industrial engineer. 


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1 Subtitle B—Fair Attendance 

2 Policies 

3 SEC. 111. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this subtitle: 

5 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en6 tity’’— 

7 (A) has the meaning given the term ‘‘re8 spondent’’ in section 701(n) of the Civil Rights 

9 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(n)); and 

10 (B) includes— 

11 (i) an employing office, as defined in 

12 section 101 of the Congressional Account13 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301); 

14 (ii) an employing office, as defined in 

15 section 411(c) of title 3, United States 

16 Code; 

17 (iii) an entity employing a State em18 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

19 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 

20 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); and 

21 (iv) an entity to which section 717(a) 

22 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

23 2000e–16(a)) applies. 

24 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ 

25 means— 


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1 (A) an employee (including an applicant), 

2 as defined in section 701(f) of the Civil Rights 

3 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(f)); 

4 (B) a covered employee (including an ap5 plicant), as defined in section 101 of the Con6 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

7 1301); 

8 (C) a covered employee (including an appli9 cant), as defined in section 411(c) of title 3, 

10 United States Code; 

11 (D) a State employee (including an appli12 cant) described in section 304(a) of the Govern13 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 

14 2000e–16c(a)); or 

15 (E) an employee (including an applicant) 

16 to which section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act 

17 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)) applies. 

18 (3) LEGALLY PROTECTED LEAVE.—The term 

19 ‘‘legally protected leave’’, when used with respect to 

20 an employee, means leave that is protected under a 

21 Federal, State, or local law applicable to the em22 ployee. 

23 (4) NO FAULT ATTENDANCE POLICY.—The 

24 term ‘‘no fault attendance policy’’ means a policy or 

25 pattern and practice maintained by a covered entity 


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1 under which employees face consequences for any 

2 absence, tardy, or early departure through the as3 sessment of points (also referred to as ‘‘demerits’’ or 

4 ‘‘occurrences’’) or deductions from an allotted bank 

5 of time, and those points or deductions subject the 

6 employee to progressive disciplinary action, which 

7 may include failure to receive a promotion, loss of 

8 pay, or termination. 

9 (5) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 

10 meaning given such term in section 701(a) of the 

11 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(a)). 

12 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of Labor. 

14 SEC. 112. REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS RELATING TO 

15 NO FAULT ATTENDANCE POLICIES OR AT16 TENDANCE SYSTEMS. 

17 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR NO FAULT ATTENDANCE

18 POLICY.—It shall be considered an unlawful employment 

19 practice for a covered entity to maintain a no fault attend20 ance policy, unless the covered entity complies with the 

21 following: 

22 (1) The no fault attendance policy shall be dis23 tributed in writing— 

24 (A) not later than 90 days after the date 

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1 ployed by the covered entity as of that date of 

2 distribution; and 

3 (B) with respect to each employee hired by 

4 the covered entity after such date of enactment, 

5 upon the commencement of the employee’s em6 ployment. 

7 (2) If any changes are made to the no fault at8 tendance policy, the no fault attendance policy shall 

9 be distributed in writing to all employees by not 

10 later than 30 days after the date of the changes. 

11 (3) The covered entity shall provide employees 

12 with a means of accessing the no fault attendance 

13 policy at any physical workplace and outside of a 

14 physical workplace. 

15 (4) The no fault attendance policy shall explic16 itly state that employees will not face disciplinary 

17 action or other adverse consequences, which may in18 clude the assessment of points or a deduction from 

19 an allotted bank of time, for legally protected leave. 

20 (5) The no fault attendance policy shall specifi21 cally reference and provide a reasonable amount of 

22 detail about all Federal, State, and local laws appli23 cable to the employees that provide legally protected 

24 leave, including the Americans with Disabilities Act 

25 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Family and 


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1 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), 

2 and chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code. 

3 (6) The no fault attendance policy shall identify 

4 a process for employees to complete each of the fol5 lowing: 

6 (A) Report that an absence is for legally 

7 protected leave. 

8 (B) Provide medical documentation, if it is 

9 required under the no fault attendance policy in 

10 order to avoid disciplinary action or other ad11 verse consequences for legally protected leave. 

12 (C) Seek removal of points that an em13 ployee believes were wrongly assessed, or the 

14 restoration of time that an employee believes 

15 was wrongly deducted for legally protected 

16 leave. 

17 (D) Delay the reporting of an absence in 

18 unforeseen or emergency circumstances without 

19 incurring additional points or discipline. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ATTENDANCE SYSTEMS.— 

21 It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a covered 

22 entity to maintain any attendance system policy, or pat23 tern and practice, that discourages employees from exer24 cising, or attempting to exercise, any right to legally pro25 tected leave. 


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1 SEC. 113. REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) CIVIL ACTION.—The powers, remedies, and pro3 cedures provided in section 107 of the Family and Medical 

4 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617) shall be the powers, 

5 remedies, and procedures this subtitle provides to any per6 son alleging an unlawful employment practice described in 

7 section 112. 

8 (b) PENALTIES.—Any covered entity that commits an 

9 unlawful employment practice described in section 112 

10 shall be subject to civil penalties not to exceed the amounts 

11 set forth in section 17(a) of the Occupational Safety and 

12 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666(a)), as adjusted annu13 ally for inflation. The Secretary or the Office of Federal 

14 Contract Compliance Programs may bring any legal action 

15 necessary, including administrative action, to collect such 

16 penalties. 

17 SEC. 114. RULEMAKING. 

18 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with the Equal 

20 Employment Opportunity Commission and the heads of 

21 other relevant Federal agencies, shall issue regulations in 

22 an accessible format in accordance with subchapter II of 

23 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, to carry out this 

24 subtitle. Such regulations shall provide an example of a 

25 model no fault attendance policy that conforms to the re26 quirements of this subtitle. 


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1 SEC. 115. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 

2 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to invali3 date or limit the powers, remedies, and procedures under 

4 any Federal law or law of any State or political subdivision 

5 of any State or jurisdiction that provide leave rights, 

6 whether paid or unpaid (such as sick time, family or med7 ical leave, and time off as an accommodation). 

8 SEC. 116. WAIVER OF STATE IMMUNITY. 

9 A State shall not be immune under the 11th Amend10 ment to the Constitution of the United States from an 

11 action in a Federal or State court of competent jurisdic12 tion for a violation of this subtitle. In any action against 

13 a State for a violation of this subtitle, remedies (including 

14 remedies both at law and in equity) are available for such 

15 a violation to the same extent as such remedies are avail16 able for such a violation in an action against any public 

17 or private entity other than a State. 

18 SEC. 117. SEVERABILITY. 

19 If any provision of this subtitle or the application of 

20 that provision to particular persons or circumstances is 

21 held invalid or found to be unconstitutional, the remainder 

22 of this subtitle and the application of that provision to 

23 other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. 


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1 Subtitle C—Occupational Safety 

2 and Health Administration Re3 forms 

4 SEC. 121. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this title, the terms ‘‘Secretary’’ and ‘‘State’’ have 

6 the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Occupa7 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652). 

8 SEC. 122. ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH EMPLOYEE 

9 RIGHTS TO USE TOILET FACILITIES AT COV10 ERED ESTABLISHMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—During any inspection of a cov12 ered establishment conducted pursuant to section 8 of the 

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

14 657), the Secretary shall verify that the employer of em15 ployees working at such establishment is in compliance 

16 with the occupational safety and health standard set forth 

17 in section 1910.141 of title 29, Code of Federal Regula18 tions, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, for employers to provide prompt access for 

20 employees to visit and use toilet facilities, including such 

21 standard as interpreted by the memorandum for regional 

22 administrators and State designees regarding ‘‘Interpreta23 tion of 29 CFR. 1910.141(c)(1): Toilet Facilities’’ issued 

24 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on 

25 April 6, 1998. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

2 the Secretary shall verify that the employer described in 

3 such subsection— 

4 (1) allows employees to leave their work loca5 tions to use a toilet facility when needed and without 

6 punishment; 

7 (2) provides an adequate number of toilet facili8 ties for the size of the workforce to prevent long 

9 lines; 

10 (3) avoids imposing unreasonable restrictions 

11 including waiting lists on the use of toilet facilities; 

12 (4) ensures that restrictions, such as locking 

13 doors or requiring employees to sign out a key, do 

14 not cause extended delays in access to toilet facili15 ties; and 

16 (5) compensates each employee for breaks for 

17 using toilet facilities at the regular rate of pay of the 

18 employee in accordance with section 785.18 of title 

19 29, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the 

20 day before the date of enactment of this Act, and 

21 any other applicable Federal, State, or local law. 


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1 SEC. 123. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STAND2 ARDS TO PROTECT EMPLOYEES IN COVERED 

3 ESTABLISHMENTS. 

4 (a) STANDARD FOR PROTECTING EMPLOYEES FROM

5 OCCUPATIONAL RISK FACTORS CAUSING MUSCULO6 SKELETAL DISORDERS.— 

7 (1) PROPOSED STANDARD.—Not later than 1 

8 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupa10 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

11 655), publish in the Federal Register a proposed 

12 standard for ergonomic program management for 

13 covered establishments. Such proposed standard 

14 shall include requirements for— 

15 (A) hazard identification and ergonomic 

16 job evaluations, including requirements for em17 ployee and authorized employee representative 

18 participation in such identification; 

19 (B) hazard control, which such require20 ments rely on the principles of the hierarchy of 

21 controls and which may include measures such 

22 as rest breaks, equipment and workstation rede23 sign, work pace reductions, or job rotation to 

24 less forceful or repetitive jobs; 

25 (C) training for employees regarding em26 ployer activities, occupational risk factors, and 


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1 training on controls and recognition of symp2 toms of musculoskeletal disorders; and 

3 (D) medical management that includes— 

4 (i) encouraging early reporting of 

5 musculoskeletal disorder symptoms; 

6 (ii) first aid delivered by those oper7 ating under State licensing requirements; 

8 and 

9 (iii) systematic evaluation and early 

10 referral for medical attention. 

11 (2) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 30 

12 months after the date of enactment this Act, the 

13 Secretary shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupa14 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

15 655), publish in the Federal Register a final stand16 ard based on the proposed standard under para17 graph (1). 

18 (b) STANDARD FOR PROTECTING EMPLOYEES FROM

19 DELAYS IN MEDICAL TREATMENT REFERRALS FOL20 LOWING INJURIES OR ILLNESSES.— 

21 (1) PROPOSED STANDARD.—Not later than 3 

22 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Secretary shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupa24 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

25 655), publish in the Federal Register a proposed 


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1 standard requiring that all employers with employees 

2 working at a covered establishment who, in accord3 ance with the standard promulgated under section 

4 1910.151 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, 

5 as in effect on the day before the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, are required to have a person readily 

7 available at the establishment who is adequately 

8 trained to render first aid, shall ensure that such 

9 person— 

10 (A) without delay, refers any such em11 ployee who reports an injury or illness that re12 quires further medical treatment to an appro13 priate medical professional of the employee’s 

14 choice for such treatment; 

15 (B) provides for occupational medicine con16 sultation services through a physician who is 

17 board certified in occupational medicine, which 

18 services shall include— 

19 (i) regular review of any health and 

20 safety program, medical management pro21 gram, or ergonomics program of the em22 ployer; 

23 (ii) review of any work-related injury 

24 or illness of an employee; 


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1 (iii) providing onsite health services 

2 for treatment of such injury or illness; and 

3 (iv) consultation referral to a local 

4 health care provider for treating such in5 jury or illness; and 

6 (C) complies with the licensing require7 ments for licensed practical nurses or registered 

8 nurses in the State in which the establishment 

9 is located. 

10 (2) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupa13 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

14 655), publish in the Federal Register a final stand15 ard based on the proposed standard under para16 graph (1). 

17 (c) STANDARD FOR PROTECTING EMPLOYEES FROM

18 AIRBORNE CONTAGIONS.— 

19 (1) EMERGENCY TEMPORARY STANDARD FOR

20 COVID–19.—In consideration of the grave danger 

21 presented by COVID–19 and the need to strengthen 

22 protections for workers at covered establishments, 

23 notwithstanding the provisions of law and the Exec24 utive orders listed in paragraph (4), not later than 

25 7 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Secretary of Labor shall promulgate an emergency 

2 temporary standard to protect all employees, con3 tractors, and temporary workers at covered estab4 lishments from occupational exposure to SARS– 

5 CoV–2. 

6 (2) EXTENSION OF STANDARD.—Notwith7 standing paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 6(c) of 

8 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

9 8 U.S.C. 655(c)), the emergency temporary standard 

10 promulgated under this subsection shall be in effect 

11 until the date on which the final standard promul12 gated under paragraph (5) is in effect. 

13 (3) STATE PLAN ADOPTION.—With respect to a 

14 State with a State plan that has been approved by 

15 the Secretary of Labor under section 18 of the Oc16 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

17 U.S.C. 667), not later than 14 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, such State shall promul19 gate an emergency temporary standard that is at 

20 least as effective in protecting employees, contrac21 tors, and temporary workers at covered establish22 ments from occupational exposure to SARS–CoV–2 

23 as the emergency temporary standard promulgated 

24 under this subsection. 


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1 (4) INAPPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF LAW AND

2 EXECUTIVE ORDER.—The provisions of law and the 

3 Executive orders listed in this paragraph are as fol4 lows: 

5 (A) The requirements of chapter 6 of title 

6 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as 

7 the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility Act’’). 

8 (B) Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, 

9 United States Code (commonly referred to as 

10 the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’). 

11 (C) The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

12 of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). 

13 (D) Executive Order 12866 (58 Fed. Reg. 

14 190; relating to regulatory planning and re15 view), as amended. 

16 (E) Executive Order 13771 (82 Fed. Reg. 

17 9339, relating to reducing regulation and con18 trolling regulatory costs). 

19 (5) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 24 

20 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

21 Secretary of Labor shall, pursuant to section 6 of 

22 the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 

23 655), promulgate a final standard— 

24 (A) to protect employees, contractors, and 

25 temporary workers at covered establishments 


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1 from occupational exposure to infectious patho2 gens, including airborne and novel pathogens; 

3 and 

4 (B) that shall be effective and enforceable 

5 in the same manner and to the same extent as 

6 a standard promulgated under section 6(b) of 

7 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 

8 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)). 

9 (6) CONSULTATION.—In developing the stand10 ards under this subsection, the Secretary— 

11 (A) shall consult with— 

12 (i) the Director of the Centers for 

13 Disease Control and Prevention; 

14 (ii) the Director of the National Insti15 tute for Occupational Safety and Health; 

16 and 

17 (iii) the professional associations and 

18 representatives of the employees, contrac19 tors, and temporary workers at covered es20 tablishments. 

21 (7) REQUIREMENTS.—Each standard promul22 gated under this subsection shall include— 

23 (A) a requirement that the covered estab24 lishments— 


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1 (i) develop and implement a com2 prehensive infectious disease exposure con3 trol plan, with the input and involvement 

4 of employees or, where applicable, the rep5 resentatives of employees, as appropriate, 

6 to address the risk of occupational expo7 sure; 

8 (ii) record and report each work-re9 lated COVID–19 infection and death, as 

10 set forth in part 1904 of title 29, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

12 date of enactment of this Act), and section 

13 129 of this Act; and 

14 (iii) reduce meat and poultry proc15 essing rates to achieve social distancing 

16 and implement applicable requirements 

17 sufficient to protect worker health with an 

18 adequate margin of safety; 

19 (B) no less protection for novel pathogens 

20 than precautions mandated by standards adopt21 ed by a State plan that has been approved by 

22 the Secretary under section 18 of the Occupa23 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

24 U.S.C. 667); and 

25 (C) the incorporation, as appropriate, of— 


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1 (i) guidelines issued by the Centers 

2 for Disease Control and Prevention, the 

3 National Institute for Occupational Safety 

4 and Health, and the Occupational Safety 

5 and Health Administration, which are de6 signed to prevent the transmission of infec7 tious agents in health care or other occu8 pational settings; and 

9 (ii) relevant scientific research on air10 borne and novel pathogens. 

11 (8) ENFORCEMENT.—This subsection shall be 

12 enforced in the same manner and to the same extent 

13 as any standard promulgated under section 6(b) of 

14 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

15 U.S.C. 655(b)). 

16 SEC. 124. PERMANENT REGIONAL EMPHASIS INSPECTION 

17 PROGRAM; EXPANDING INSPECTIONS. 

18 (a) REGIONAL EMPHASIS INSPECTION PROGRAM.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

21 shall, pursuant to section 8 of the Occupational 

22 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657), im23 plement a regional emphasis inspection program for 

24 covered establishments in every State of the United 


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1 States in which a covered establishment is located. 

2 Such program shall cover— 

3 (A) amputation hazards; 

4 (B) ergonomics; 

5 (C) hazards related to line speeds; 

6 (D) bathroom breaks; 

7 (E) use of chemicals such as peracetic acid 

8 (antimicrobials); and 

9 (F) working conditions in high and low 

10 temperatures. 

11 (2) STATE PLANS.—Not later than 30 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, a State with 

13 a State plan that has been approved by the Sec14 retary under section 18 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 667) 

15 shall adopt in each region within the State in which 

16 covered establishment is located a regional emphasis 

17 inspection program that is at least as effective as 

18 the program under paragraph (1). 

19 (b) EXPANDING INSPECTIONS WHEN INFORMATION

20 PRESENTS POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL DANGERS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case the Secretary 

22 conducts a physical inspection of a covered establish23 ment pursuant to section 8 of such Act in response 

24 to a referral, complaint, or fatality, and the Sec25 retary, during such inspection makes a determinaVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:25 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H798.IH H798

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1 tion under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall expand 

2 such inspection to all areas of the establishment. 

3 (2) DETERMINATION.—A determination de4 scribed in this paragraph is either of the following: 

5 (A) A determination, following a review of 

6 records of work-related injuries and illnesses 

7 maintained in accordance with such section 8, 

8 that a work-related injury or illness may be re9 lated to a workplace danger that may threaten 

10 physical harm. 

11 (B) A determination, upon interviews with 

12 employees, that a workplace danger may threat13 en physical harm. 

14 SEC. 125. REPRESENTATIVES DURING PHYSICAL INSPEC15 TIONS. 

16 (a) PROPOSED RULE.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, 

18 under section 8(e) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

19 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657(e)), publish in the Federal 

20 Register a regulation providing that during a physical in21 spection of a covered establishment under such section— 

22 (1) the representative authorized by employees 

23 to be given the opportunity to accompany the Sec24 retary during the inspection as described in such 


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1 section shall not be required to be an employee of 

2 the employer; 

3 (2) where there is no representative authorized 

4 by employees as described in paragraph (1), the em5 ployees may designate a person affiliated with a 

6 worker-based community organization to serve as 

7 such representative; and 

8 (3) the inspector may arrange for interviews 

9 with employees off-site upon the request of the rep10 resentative or designated person. 

11 (b) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 2 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish 

13 in the Federal Register a final rule for the proposed rule 

14 under subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 126. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FROM RETALIATION. 

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

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

18 660(c)(1)) is amended— 

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

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

21 ‘‘discharge or cause to be discharged, or in any 

22 other manner retaliate or discriminate against or 

23 cause to be retaliated or discriminated against, any 

24 employee because— 

25 ‘‘(A) such’’; 


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

2 the following: ‘‘this Act; 

3 ‘‘(B) such employee has’’; 

4 (3) by striking ‘‘in any such proceeding or be5 cause of the exercise’’ and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘before Congress or in any Federal or State pro7 ceeding related to safety or health; 

8 ‘‘(C) such employee has refused to violate 

9 any provision of this Act; or 

10 ‘‘(D) of the exercise’’; and 

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

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

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

14 the employer, safety and health committee involved, 

15 or employee safety and health representative in16 volved’’. 

17 (b) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATION; PROCEDURE.— 

18 Section 11 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 660) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘discharged or other22 wise discriminated against by any person 

23 in violation of this subsection’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘aggrieved by a violation of this sub25 section’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘such discrimination’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘such violation’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR MEAT AND POULTRY ES5 TABLISHMENTS.—Paragraphs (2) and (3) shall not 

6 apply with respect to a complaint filed by an em7 ployee of an employer that is a covered establish8 ment, as defined in section 3 of the Protecting 

9 America’s Meatpacking Workers Act.’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(d) MEAT AND POULTRY ESTABLISHMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) COMPLAINANT.—The term ‘complain14 ant’ means a complainant who is a covered em15 ployee. 

16 ‘‘(B) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

17 ‘covered employee’ means an employee of a cov18 ered employer. 

19 ‘‘(C) COVERED EMPLOYER.—The term 

20 ‘covered employer’ means an employer that is a 

21 covered establishment, as defined in section 3 of 

22 the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers 

23 Act. 


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1 ‘‘(D) RESPONDENT.—The term ‘respond2 ent’ means a respondent who is a covered em3 ployer. 

4 ‘‘(2) REASONABLE APPREHENSION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No person shall dis6 charge, or cause to be discharged, or in any 

7 other manner retaliate or discriminate against, 

8 or cause to be retaliated or discriminated 

9 against, a covered employee for refusing to per10 form the covered employee’s duties if the cov11 ered employee has a reasonable apprehension 

12 that performing such duties would result in se13 rious injury to, or serious impairment of the 

14 health of, the covered employee or other covered 

15 employees. 

16 ‘‘(B) CIRCUMSTANCES.—For purposes of 

17 subparagraph (A), the circumstances causing 

18 the covered employee’s reasonable apprehension 

19 described in such subparagraph shall be of such 

20 a nature that a reasonable person, under the 

21 circumstances confronting the covered em22 ployee, would conclude that performing the du23 ties described in such subparagraph would have 

24 the result described in such subparagraph. 


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1 ‘‘(C) COMMUNICATION.—In order to qual2 ify for protection under this paragraph, the cov3 ered employee, when practicable, shall have 

4 communicated or attempted to communicate the 

5 safety or health concern to the covered em6 ployer and have not received from the covered 

7 employer a response reasonably calculated to 

8 allay such concern. 

9 ‘‘(3) COMPLAINT.—Any covered employee who 

10 believes that the covered employee has been dis11 charged, disciplined, or otherwise retaliated or dis12 criminated against by any person in violation of sub13 section (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this subsection 

14 may seek relief for such violation by filing a com15 plaint with the Secretary under paragraph (5). 

16 ‘‘(4) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee 

18 may take the action permitted by paragraph (3) 

19 not later than 180 days after the later of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the date on which an alleged vio21 lation of subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) 

22 of this subsection occurs; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the covered 

24 employee knows or should reasonably have 

25 known that such alleged violation occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REPEAT VIOLATION.—Except in 

2 cases when the covered employee has been dis3 charged, a violation of subsection (c)(1) or 

4 paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be consid5 ered to have occurred on the last date an al6 leged repeat violation occurred. 

7 ‘‘(5) INVESTIGATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee 

9 may, within the time period required under 

10 paragraph (4)(A), file a complaint with the Sec11 retary alleging a violation of subsection (c)(1) 

12 or paragraph (2) of this subsection. If the com13 plaint alleges a prima facie case, the Secretary 

14 shall conduct an investigation of the allegations 

15 in the complaint, which— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(I) interviewing the complain18 ant; 

19 ‘‘(II) providing the respondent an 

20 opportunity to— 

21 ‘‘(aa) submit to the Sec22 retary a written response to the 

23 complaint; and 

24 ‘‘(bb) meet with the Sec25 retary to present statements from 


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1 witnesses or provide evidence; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) providing the complainant 

4 an opportunity to— 

5 ‘‘(aa) receive any statements 

6 or evidence provided to the Sec7 retary; 

8 ‘‘(bb) meet with the Sec9 retary; and 

10 ‘‘(cc) rebut any statements 

11 or evidence; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) may include issuing subpoenas 

13 for the purposes of such investigation. 

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

15 after the filing of the complaint under this 

16 paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) determine whether reasonable 

18 cause exists to believe that a violation of 

19 subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this 

20 subsection has occurred; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) issue a decision granting or de22 nying relief. 

23 ‘‘(6) PRELIMINARY ORDER FOLLOWING INVES24 TIGATION.—If, after completion of an investigation 

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1 able cause to believe that a violation of subsection 

2 (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this subsection has oc3 curred, the Secretary shall issue a preliminary order 

4 providing relief authorized under paragraph (14) at 

5 the same time the Secretary issues a decision under 

6 paragraph (5)(B). If a de novo hearing is not re7 quested within the time period required under para8 graph (7)(A)(i), such preliminary order shall be 

9 deemed a final order of the Secretary and is not 

10 subject to judicial review. 

11 ‘‘(7) HEARING.— 

12 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR HEARING.— 

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

14 on the record before an administrative law 

15 judge may be requested— 

16 ‘‘(I) by the complainant or re17 spondent within 30 days after receiv18 ing notification of a decision granting 

19 or denying relief issued under para20 graph (5)(B) or a preliminary order 

21 under paragraph (6), respectively; 

22 ‘‘(II) by the complainant within 

23 30 days after the date the complaint 

24 is dismissed without investigation by 


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

2 or 

3 ‘‘(III) by the complainant within 

4 120 days after the date of filing the 

5 complaint under paragraph (5), if the 

6 Secretary has not issued a decision 

7 under paragraph (5)(B). 

8 ‘‘(ii) REINSTATEMENT ORDER.—The 

9 request for a hearing shall not operate to 

10 stay any preliminary reinstatement order 

11 issued under paragraph (6). 

12 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A hearing re14 quested under this paragraph shall be con15 ducted expeditiously and in accordance 

16 with rules established by the Secretary for 

17 hearings conducted by administrative law 

18 judges. 

19 ‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS; PRODUCTION OF

20 EVIDENCE.—In conducting any such hear21 ing, the administrative law judge may issue 

22 subpoenas. The respondent or complainant 

23 may request the issuance of subpoenas 

24 that require the deposition of, or the at25 tendance and testimony of, witnesses and 


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1 the production of any evidence (including 

2 any books, papers, documents, or record3 ings) relating to the matter under consid4 eration. 

5 ‘‘(iii) DECISION.—The administrative 

6 law judge shall issue a decision not later 

7 than 90 days after the date on which a 

8 hearing was requested under this para9 graph and promptly notify, in writing, the 

10 parties and the Secretary of such decision, 

11 including the findings of fact and conclu12 sions of law. If the administrative law 

13 judge finds that a violation of subsection 

14 (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this subsection 

15 has occurred, the judge shall issue an 

16 order for relief under paragraph (14). If 

17 review under paragraph (8) is not timely 

18 requested, such order shall be deemed a 

19 final order of the Secretary that is not sub20 ject to judicial review. 

21 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.— 

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

23 days after the date of notification of a decision 

24 and order issued by an administrative law judge 

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1 spondent may file, with objections, an adminis2 trative appeal with an administrative review 

3 body designated by the Secretary (referred to in 

4 this paragraph as the ‘review board’). 

5 ‘‘(B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In review6 ing the decision and order of the administrative 

7 law judge, the review board shall affirm the de8 cision and order if it is determined that the fac9 tual findings set forth therein are supported by 

10 substantial evidence and the decision and order 

11 are made in accordance with applicable law. 

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

13 grants an administrative appeal, the review 

14 board shall issue a final decision and order af15 firming or reversing, in whole or in part, the 

16 decision under review by not later than 90 days 

17 after receipt of the administrative appeal. If it 

18 is determined that a violation of subsection 

19 (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this subsection has 

20 occurred, the review board shall issue a final 

21 decision and order providing relief authorized 

22 under paragraph (14). Such decision and order 

23 shall constitute final agency action with respect 

24 to the matter appealed. 


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1 ‘‘(9) SETTLEMENT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE

2 PROCESS.— 

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

4 issuance of a final order, an investigation or 

5 proceeding under this subsection may be termi6 nated on the basis of a settlement agreement 

7 entered into by the parties. 

8 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.— 

9 Neither the Secretary, an administrative law 

10 judge, nor the review board conducting a hear11 ing under this subsection shall accept a settle12 ment that contains conditions conflicting with 

13 the rights protected under this Act or that are 

14 contrary to public policy, including a restriction 

15 on a complainant’s right to future employment 

16 with employers other than the specific covered 

17 employers named in a complaint. 

18 ‘‘(10) INACTION BY THE REVIEW BOARD OR AD19 MINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.— 

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

21 bring a de novo action described in subpara22 graph (B) if— 

23 ‘‘(i) an administrative law judge has 

24 not issued a decision and order within the 


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1 90-day time period required under para2 graph (7)(B)(iii); or 

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

4 a decision and order within the 90-day 

5 time period required under paragraph 

6 (8)(C). 

7 ‘‘(B) DE NOVO ACTION.—Such de novo ac8 tion may be brought at law or equity in the 

9 United States district court for the district 

10 where a violation of subsection (c)(1) or para11 graph (2) of this subsection allegedly occurred 

12 or where the complainant resided on the date of 

13 such alleged violation. The court shall have ju14 risdiction over such action without regard to the 

15 amount in controversy and to order appropriate 

16 relief under paragraph (14). Such action shall, 

17 at the request of either party to such action, be 

18 tried by the court with a jury. 

19 ‘‘(11) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

20 ‘‘(A) TIMELY APPEAL TO THE COURT OF

21 APPEALS.—Any party adversely affected or ag22 grieved by a final decision and order issued 

23 under this subsection may obtain review of such 

24 decision and order in the United States Court 

25 of Appeals for the circuit where the violation, 


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1 with respect to which such final decision and 

2 order was issued, allegedly occurred or where 

3 the complainant resided on the date of such al4 leged violation. To obtain such review, a party 

5 shall file a petition for review not later than 60 

6 days after the final decision and order was 

7 issued. Such review shall conform to chapter 7 

8 of title 5, United States Code. The commence9 ment of proceedings under this subparagraph 

10 shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate 

11 as a stay of the final decision and order. 

12 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT13 TACK.—An order and decision with respect to 

14 which review may be obtained under subpara15 graph (A) shall not be subject to judicial review 

16 in any criminal or other civil proceeding. 

17 ‘‘(12) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—If a re18 spondent fails to comply with an order issued under 

19 this subsection, the Secretary or the complainant on 

20 whose behalf the order was issued may file a civil ac21 tion for enforcement in the United States district 

22 court for the district in which the violation was 

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

24 Secretary and the complainant file such action, the 

25 action of the Secretary shall take precedence. The 


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1 district court shall have jurisdiction to grant all ap2 propriate relief described in paragraph (14). 

3 ‘‘(13) BURDENS OF PROOF.— 

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

5 making a determination or adjudicating a com6 plaint pursuant to this subsection, the Sec7 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

8 or a court may determine that a violation of 

9 subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this sub10 section has occurred only if the complainant 

11 demonstrates that any conduct described in 

12 subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this sub13 section with respect to the complainant was a 

14 contributing factor in the adverse action alleged 

15 in the complaint. 

16 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding sub17 paragraph (A), a decision or order that is favor18 able to the complainant shall not be issued in 

19 any administrative or judicial action pursuant 

20 to this subsection if the respondent dem21 onstrates by clear and convincing evidence that 

22 the respondent would have taken the same ad23 verse action in the absence of such conduct. 

24 ‘‘(14) RELIEF.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ORDER FOR RELIEF.—If the Sec2 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

3 or a court determines that a covered employer 

4 has violated subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) 

5 of this subsection, the Secretary, administrative 

6 law judge, review board, or court, respectively, 

7 shall have jurisdiction to order all appropriate 

8 relief, including injunctive relief, and compen9 satory and exemplary damages, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) affirmative action to abate the 

11 violation; 

12 ‘‘(ii) reinstatement without loss of po13 sition or seniority, and restoration of the 

14 terms, rights, conditions, and privileges as15 sociated with the complainant’s employ16 ment, including opportunities for pro17 motions to positions with equivalent or bet18 ter compensation for which the complain19 ant is qualified; 

20 ‘‘(iii) compensatory and consequential 

21 damages sufficient to make the complain22 ant whole (including back pay, prejudg23 ment interest, and other damages); and 

24 ‘‘(iv) expungement of all warnings, 

25 reprimands, or derogatory references that 


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1 have been placed in paper or electronic 

2 records or databases of any type relating 

3 to the actions by the complainant that 

4 gave rise to the unfavorable personnel ac5 tion, and, at the complainant’s direction, 

6 transmission of a copy of the decision on 

7 the complaint to any person whom the 

8 complainant reasonably believes may have 

9 received such unfavorable information. 

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

11 the Secretary or an administrative law judge, 

12 review board, or court grants an order for relief 

13 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, admin14 istrative law judge, review board, or court, re15 spectively, shall assess, at the request of the 

16 covered employee against the covered em17 ployer— 

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

19 ‘‘(ii) costs (including expert witness 

20 fees) reasonably incurred, as determined 

21 by the Secretary, administrative law judge, 

22 review board, or court, respectively, in con23 nection with bringing the complaint upon 

24 which the order was issued. 


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

2 remedies provided for in this subsection may not be 

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

4 of employment, including by any pre-dispute arbitra5 tion agreement or collective bargaining agreement. 

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

7 shall be construed to diminish the rights, privileges, 

8 or remedies of any covered employee who exercises 

9 rights under any Federal or State law or common 

10 law, or under any collective bargaining agreement. 

11 ‘‘(17) ELECTION OF VENUE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered employee of 

13 a covered employer who is located in a State 

14 that has a State plan approved under section 

15 18 may file a complaint alleging a violation of 

16 subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this sub17 section by such employer with— 

18 ‘‘(i) the Secretary under paragraph 

19 (5); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator in 

21 such State. 

22 ‘‘(B) REFERRALS.—If— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Secretary receives a complaint 

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1 retary shall not refer such complaint to a 

2 State plan administrator for resolution; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator re4 ceives a complaint pursuant to subpara5 graph (A)(ii), the State plan administrator 

6 shall not refer such complaint to the Sec7 retary for resolution. 

8 ‘‘(18) PRESUMPTION OF RETALIATION.—The 

9 Secretary shall apply an unrebuttable presumption 

10 of retaliation in any complaint initiated under para11 graph (5) in which the Secretary finds a covered em12 ployee suffers an adverse action within 90 days of 

13 the date on which the covered employee took any ac14 tion protected under subsection (c)(1) or raised any 

15 reasonable apprehension under paragraph (2) of this 

16 subsection. 

17 ‘‘(19) SUPPLEMENT AND NOT SUPPLANT.—The 

18 remedies provided for under this subsection supple19 ment, and do not supplant, the private right of ac20 tion under section 130 of the Protecting America’s 

21 Meatpacking Workers Act. 

22 ‘‘(20) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub23 section and subsection (c)— 

24 ‘‘(A) the term ‘retaliate or discriminate 

25 against’ includes reporting, or threatening to 


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1 report, to a Federal, State, or local authority 

2 the suspected citizenship or immigration status 

3 of a covered employee, or of a family member 

4 of a covered employee, because the covered em5 ployee raises a concern about workplace health 

6 and safety practices or hazards; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the term ‘family member’, with re8 spect to the family member of a covered em9 ployee, means an individual who— 

10 ‘‘(i) is related to the covered employee 

11 by blood, adoption, marriage, or domestic 

12 partnership; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) is a significant other, parent, sib14 ling, child, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, 

15 cousin, grandparent, or grandchild of the 

16 covered employee.’’. 

17 (c) RELATION TO ENFORCEMENT.—Section 17(j) of 

18 such Act (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended by inserting be19 fore the period the following: ‘‘, including the history of 

20 violations under subsection (c) or (d) of section 11’’. 

21 SEC. 127. REGULATIONS TO RESTORE A COLUMN ON RE22 QUIRED RECORDS OF WORK-RELATED MUS23 CULOSKELETAL DISORDERS. 

24 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a final rule regarding 


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1 matters pertaining to the proposed rule issued by the Sec2 retary on January 29, 2010, entitled ‘‘Occupational Injury 

3 and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements’’ (75 

4 Fed. Reg. 4728). 

5 SEC. 128. FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL OSHA INSPECTORS. 

6 Out of any amounts in the Treasury not otherwise 

7 appropriated, there is appropriated $60,000,000 to the 

8 Secretary for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029, to 

9 remain available until expended for— 

10 (1) the hiring of additional inspectors to carry 

11 out inspections under section 8 of the Occupational 

12 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657); and 

13 (2) carrying out sections 6, 8, and 11 of the 

14 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

15 U.S.C. 655; 657; and 660), as amended by this Act. 

16 SEC. 129. OSHA REPORTING. 

17 (a) DEFINITION OF PANDEMIC.—In this section, the 

18 term ‘‘pandemic’’ means a public health emergency de19 clared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to a pandemic. 

21 (b) REPORTING DURING A PANDEMIC.— 

22 (1) STANDARDIZED REPORTING.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es24 tablish a standardized process for covered es25 tablishments to report, on a weekly basis during 


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1 a pandemic, to the Secretary information re2 garding infections and deaths related to the 

3 pandemic. Such information shall include— 

4 (i) the number of employees on a 

5 weekly and cumulative basis that have con6 tracted the disease resulting in the pan7 demic; 

8 (ii) racial demographics of such em9 ployees; and 

10 (iii) the employment status of such 

11 employees. 

12 (B) FORM AND PROCEDURES.— 

13 (i) COVID–19.—Not later than 7 

14 days after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act, the Secretary shall issue reporting 

16 procedures described in subparagraph (A), 

17 including forms for such procedures, for 

18 reporting the information described in such 

19 subparagraph during the pandemic with 

20 respect to COVID–19. 

21 (ii) FUTURE PANDEMICS.—Not later 

22 than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

23 this Act, or 7 days following a declaration 

24 of a pandemic other than COVID–19, 

25 whichever is sooner, the Secretary shall 


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1 issue reporting procedures described in 

2 subparagraph (A), including forms for 

3 such procedures, for pandemics other than 

4 COVID–19. 

5 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

6 shall make the information reported under para7 graph (1) available to the public in a manner that 

8 facilitates public participation, including by making 

9 such information available on its website in a man10 ner that maximizes public participation. 

11 (3) PRIVACY.—A covered establishment, in re12 porting information to the Secretary under para13 graph (1), may not claim confidential business infor14 mation or patient privacy, except that such an estab15 lishment may withhold the names of workers, as a 

16 basis to withhold information. 

17 (c) DISCLOSURES TO EMPLOYEES.—A covered estab18 lishment shall disclose to each employee or individual pro19 viding work for the employer, including any individual pro20 viding such work through a contract or subcontract, all 

21 chemicals used at the worksite where the employee or indi22 vidual provides such work. Such disclosure shall be pro23 vided to the employee or individual in the native language 

24 of the employee or individual. 


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1 SEC. 130. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by the fail3 ure of a covered establishment to comply with the Occupa4 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et 

5 seq.), including any regulation promulgated pursuant to 

6 such Act, or to comply with this subtitle may file suit in 

7 any district court of the United States having jurisdiction 

8 of the parties, without respect to the amount in con9 troversy and without regard to the citizenship of the par10 ties, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction. 

11 (b) RIGHT OF RECOVERY.—In an action brought by 

12 any aggrieved person pursuant to this section, the person 

13 may recover equitable and legal relief (including compen14 satory and punitive damages), attorney’s fees (including 

15 expert fees), and costs of the action. 

16 (c) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—Any administra17 tive enforcement by the Secretary shall not preclude the 

18 relief afforded by this section or otherwise deprive a court 

19 of jurisdiction. 

20 SEC. 131. INJUNCTION PROCEEDINGS. 

21 Section 13 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

22 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 662) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

24 following: ‘‘Any employee (or the representative of 

25 such employee) at a place of employment subject to 


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1 enforcement under this subsection may uncondition2 ally intervene as a matter of right.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

4 following: ‘‘The right to judicial review provided in 

5 this subsection shall extend to, and the district court 

6 shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate, any action, in7 action, or failure to act by the Secretary with re8 spect to an imminent danger regardless of whether 

9 the Secretary, an inspector, or any other individual 

10 determines the existence or absence of an imminent 

11 danger.’’. 

12 Subtitle D—Savings Provision 

13 SEC. 136. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

14 Nothing in title shall be construed to diminish the 

15 rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee who exer16 cises rights under any Federal or State law or common 

17 law, or under any collective bargaining agreement. 

18 TITLE II—FARM SYSTEM 

19 REFORMS 

20 SEC. 201. EXPANDED MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING 

21 GRANTS. 

22 Section 764 of division N of the Consolidated Appro23 priations Act, 2021 (21 U.S.C. 473), is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by redesignating 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and 

3 (ii), respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

4 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

5 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 

6 and indenting appropriately; 

7 (C) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

8 (A) (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘To be eli9 gible’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible’’; 

11 (D) in paragraph (1) (as so designated)— 

12 (i) in the matter preceding subpara13 graph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking 

14 ‘‘shall be—’’ and inserting ‘‘shall—’’; 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (A) (as so redes16 ignated)— 

17 (I) by inserting ‘‘be’’ before ‘‘in 

18 operation’’; and 

19 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so redes21 ignated)— 

22 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

23 (i) (as so redesignated), by striking 

24 ‘‘seeking’’ and inserting ‘‘seek’’; and 


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1 (II) in clause (ii) (as so redesig2 nated), by striking the period at the 

3 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

4 (iv) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(C) have a labor peace agreement in 

7 place.’’; and 

8 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF LABOR PEACE AGREE10 MENT.—In this subsection, the term ‘labor peace 

11 agreement’ means an agreement— 

12 ‘‘(A) between an employer and a labor or13 ganization that represents, or is actively seeking 

14 to represent, the employees of the employer; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) under which such employer and labor 

17 organization agree that— 

18 ‘‘(i) the employer will not— 

19 ‘‘(I) hinder any effort of an em20 ployee to join a labor organization; or 

21 ‘‘(II) take any action that di22 rectly or indirectly indicates or implies 

23 any opposition to an employee joining 

24 a labor organization; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the labor organization agrees to 

2 refrain from picketing, work stoppages, or 

3 boycotts against the employer; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the employer provides the labor 

5 organization with employee contact infor6 mation, and facilitates or permits labor or7 ganization access to employees at the 

8 workplace, including facilitating or permit9 ting the labor organization to meet with 

10 employees to discuss joining the labor or11 ganization; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the employer shall, upon the re13 quest of the labor organization, recognize 

14 the labor organization as the bargaining 

15 representative of the employees if a major16 ity of the employees choose the labor orga17 nization as their bargaining representa18 tive.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (d)(2)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (A), by redesignating 

21 clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), 

22 respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

23 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

24 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 

25 indenting appropriately; 


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1 (C) in the matter preceding clause (i) (as 

2 so redesignated), by striking ‘‘recipient shall 

3 agree’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘recipient— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall agree’’; 

5 (D) in subparagraph (A) (as so des6 ignated), in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by 

7 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

8 and’’; and 

9 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) shall not, for a period of 10 years fol11 lowing the date of receipt of the grant, sell a 

12 slaughter or processing facility to, or merge the 

13 slaughter or processing facility with, a packer 

14 that owns more than 10 percent of the market 

15 share of meat and poultry markets.’’; and 

16 (3) in subsection (f)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘Of the funds’’ and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition to 

22 amounts made available under paragraph (1), of the 

23 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

24 there is appropriated to carry out this section 


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1 $100,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 

2 through 2033.’’. 

3 SEC. 202. LOCAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PROGRAM. 

4 Section 210A(i)(1) of the Agricultural Marketing Act 

5 of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c(i)(1)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘fiscal year 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 

7 2023 and 2024, and $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2025’’. 

8 SEC. 203. RESTORATION OF MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORI9 GIN LABELING FOR BEEF AND PORK; INCLU10 SION OF DAIRY PRODUCTS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 281 of the Agricultural 

12 Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2) 

14 through (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (2), (4) 

15 through (7), (9), and (10), respectively; 

16 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re17 designated) the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) BEEF.—The term ‘beef’ means meat pro19 duced from cattle (including veal).’’; 

20 (3) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘lamb’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘beef, lamb, pork,’’; 


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1 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘ground 

2 lamb’’ and inserting ‘‘ground beef, ground 

3 lamb, ground pork,’’; 

4 (iii) in clause (x), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

5 at the end; 

6 (iv) in clause (xi), by striking the pe7 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (v) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(xii) dairy products.’’; and 

10 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

11 ‘‘(other than clause (xii) of that subpara12 graph)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; 

13 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re14 designated) the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) DAIRY PRODUCT.—The term ‘dairy prod16 uct’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) fluid milk; 

18 ‘‘(B) cheese, including cottage cheese and 

19 cream cheese; 

20 ‘‘(C) yogurt; 

21 ‘‘(D) ice cream; 

22 ‘‘(E) butter; and 

23 ‘‘(F) any other dairy product.’’; and 

24 (5) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as so re25 designated) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(8) PORK.—The term ‘pork’ means meat pro2 duced from hogs.’’. 

3 (b) NOTICE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.—Section 

4 282(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

5 U.S.C. 1638a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(5) DESIGNATION OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

8 FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A retailer of a covered 

10 commodity that is a dairy product shall des11 ignate the origin of the covered commodity as— 

12 ‘‘(i) each country in which or from 

13 which the 1 or more dairy ingredients or 

14 dairy components of the covered com15 modity were produced, originated, or 

16 sourced; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) each country in which the cov18 ered commodity was processed. 

19 ‘‘(B) STATE, REGION, LOCALITY OF THE

20 UNITED STATES.—With respect to a covered 

21 commodity that is a dairy product produced ex22 clusively in the United States, designation by a 

23 retailer of the State, region, or locality of the 

24 United States where the covered commodity 


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1 was produced shall be sufficient to identify the 

2 United States as the country of origin.’’. 

3 SEC. 204. DEFINITIONS IN PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS ACT, 

4 1921. 

5 Section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

6 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)), is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘for slaugh8 ter’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of such poultry’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘under a poultry growing arrange10 ment, regardless of whether the poultry is owned by 

11 that person or another person’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and cares for 

13 live poultry for delivery, in accord with another’s in14 structions, for slaughter’’ and inserting ‘‘or cares for 

15 live poultry in accordance with the instructions of 

16 another person’’; 

17 (3) in each of paragraphs (1) through (9), by 

18 striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a pe19 riod; 

20 (4) in paragraph (10)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘for the purpose of either 

22 slaughtering it or selling it for slaughter by an23 other’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and in25 serting a period; and 


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1 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(15) FORMULA PRICE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘formula 

4 price’ means any price term that establishes a 

5 base from which a purchase price is calculated 

6 on the basis of a price that will not be deter7 mined or reported until a date that is after the 

8 date on which the forward price is established. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘formula 

10 price’ does not include— 

11 ‘‘(i) any price term that establishes a 

12 base from which a purchase price is cal13 culated on the basis of a futures market 

14 price; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) any adjustment to the base for 

16 quality, grade, or other factors relating to 

17 the value of livestock or livestock products 

18 that are readily verifiable market factors 

19 and are outside the control of the packer. 

20 ‘‘(16) FORWARD CONTRACT.—The term ‘for21 ward contract’ means an oral or written contract for 

22 the purchase of livestock that provides for the deliv23 ery of the livestock to a packer at a date that is 

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1 tract is entered into, without regard to whether the 

2 contract is for— 

3 ‘‘(A) a specified lot of livestock; or 

4 ‘‘(B) a specified number of livestock over a 

5 certain period of time.’’. 

6 SEC. 205. UNLAWFUL PRACTICES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202 of the Packers and 

8 Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 192), is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsections (a) through (f) 

10 and (g) as paragraphs (1) through (6) and (10), re11 spectively, and indenting appropriately; 

12 (2) by striking the section designation and all 

13 that follows through ‘‘It shall be’’ in the matter pre14 ceding paragraph (1) (as so redesignated) and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 202. UNLAWFUL ACTS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

20 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘to:’’ and in21 serting ‘‘to do any of the following:’’; 

22 (B) in each of paragraphs (1) through (6) 

23 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘; or’’ each 

24 place it appears and inserting a period; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (6) (as so redesig2 nated)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘(A)’’; 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘(B)’’; and 

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘(C)’’; 

9 (D) by inserting after paragraph (6) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(7) Use, in effectuating any sale of livestock, 

12 a forward contract that— 

13 ‘‘(A) does not contain a firm base price 

14 that may be equated to a fixed dollar amount 

15 on the date on which the forward contract is 

16 entered into; 

17 ‘‘(B) is not offered for bid in an open, pub18 lic manner under which— 

19 ‘‘(i) buyers and sellers have the oppor20 tunity to participate in the bid; 

21 ‘‘(ii) more than 1 blind bid is solic22 ited; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) buyers and sellers may witness 

24 bids that are made and accepted; 

25 ‘‘(C) is based on a formula price; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) provides for the sale of livestock in a 

2 quantity in excess of— 

3 ‘‘(i) in the case of cattle, 40 cattle; 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of swine, 30 swine; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) in the case of another type of 

7 livestock, a comparable quantity of that 

8 type of livestock, as determined by the Sec9 retary. 

10 ‘‘(8) Own or feed livestock directly, through a 

11 subsidiary, or through an arrangement that gives a 

12 packer operational, managerial, or supervisory con13 trol over the livestock, or over the farming operation 

14 that produces the livestock, to such an extent that 

15 the producer of the livestock is not materially par16 ticipating in the management of the operation with 

17 respect to the production of the livestock, except 

18 that this paragraph shall not apply to— 

19 ‘‘(A) an arrangement entered into not 

20 more than 7 business days before slaughter of 

21 the livestock by a packer, a person acting 

22 through the packer, or a person that directly or 

23 indirectly controls, or is controlled by or under 

24 common control with, the packer; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a cooperative or entity owned by a co2 operative, if a majority of the ownership inter3 est in the cooperative is held by active coopera4 tive members that— 

5 ‘‘(i) own, feed, or control the livestock; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) provide the livestock to the coop8 erative for slaughter; 

9 ‘‘(C) a packer that is not required to re10 port to the Secretary on each reporting day (as 

11 defined in section 212 of the Agricultural Mar12 keting Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635a)) informa13 tion on the price and quantity of livestock pur14 chased by the packer; or 

15 ‘‘(D) a packer that owns only 1 livestock 

16 processing plant. 

17 ‘‘(9) Take any action that adversely affects or 

18 is likely to adversely affect competition, regardless of 

19 whether there is a business justification for the ac20 tion.’’; and 

21 (E) in paragraph (10) (as so redesig22 nated), by striking ‘‘subdivision (a), (b), (c), 

23 (d), or (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1) 

24 through (9)’’; and 

25 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) UNFAIR, DISCRIMINATORY, AND DECEPTIVE

2 PRACTICES AND DEVICES.—Acts by a packer, swine con3 tractor, or live poultry dealer that violate subsection (a)(1) 

4 include the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Refusal to provide, on the request of a 

6 livestock producer, swine production contract grow7 er, or poultry grower with which the packer, swine 

8 contractor, or live poultry dealer has a marketing or 

9 delivery contract, the relevant statistical information 

10 and data used to determine the compensation paid 

11 to the livestock producer, swine production contract 

12 grower, or poultry grower, as applicable, under the 

13 contract, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) feed conversion rates by house, lot, or 

15 pen; 

16 ‘‘(B) feed analysis; 

17 ‘‘(C) breeder history; 

18 ‘‘(D) quality grade; 

19 ‘‘(E) yield grade; and 

20 ‘‘(F) delivery volume for any certified 

21 branding program (such as programs for angus 

22 beef or certified grassfed or Berkshire pork). 

23 ‘‘(2) Conduct or action that limits or attempts 

24 to limit by contract the legal rights and remedies of 


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1 a livestock producer, swine production contract 

2 grower, or poultry grower, including the right— 

3 ‘‘(A) to a trial by jury, unless the livestock 

4 producer, swine production contract grower, or 

5 poultry grower, as applicable, is voluntarily 

6 bound by an arbitration provision in a contract; 

7 ‘‘(B) to pursue all damages available under 

8 applicable law; and 

9 ‘‘(C) to seek an award of attorneys’ fees, 

10 if available under applicable law. 

11 ‘‘(3) Termination of a poultry growing arrange12 ment or swine production contract with no basis 

13 other than an allegation that the poultry grower or 

14 swine production contract grower failed to comply 

15 with an applicable law, rule, or regulation. 

16 ‘‘(4) A representation, omission, or practice 

17 that is likely to mislead a livestock producer, swine 

18 production contract grower, or poultry grower re19 garding a material condition or term in a contract 

20 or business transaction. 

21 ‘‘(c) UNDUE OR UNREASONABLE PREFERENCES, AD22 VANTAGES, PREJUDICES, AND DISADVANTAGES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Acts by a packer, swine 

24 contractor, or live poultry dealer that violate sub25 section (a)(2) include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A retaliatory action (including coer2 cion or intimidation) or the threat of retaliatory 

3 action— 

4 ‘‘(i) in connection with the execution, 

5 termination, extension, or renewal of a 

6 contract or agreement with a livestock pro7 ducer, swine production contract grower, 

8 or poultry grower aimed to discourage the 

9 exercise of the rights of the livestock pro10 ducer, swine production contract grower, 

11 or poultry grower under this Act or any 

12 other law; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) in response to lawful communica14 tion (including as described in paragraph 

15 (2)), association, or assertion of rights by 

16 a livestock producer, swine production con17 tract grower, or poultry grower. 

18 ‘‘(B) Use of the tournament system for 

19 poultry as described in paragraph (3). 

20 ‘‘(2) LAWFUL COMMUNICATION DESCRIBED.—A 

21 lawful communication referred to in paragraph 

22 (1)(A)(ii) includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) a communication with officials of a 

24 Federal agency or Members of Congress; 


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1 ‘‘(B) any lawful disclosure that dem2 onstrates a reasonable belief of a violation of 

3 this Act or any other law; and 

4 ‘‘(C) any other communication that assists 

5 in carrying out the purposes of this Act. 

6 ‘‘(3) USE OF TOURNAMENT SYSTEM FOR POUL7 TRY.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), a live poultry dealer shall be in vio10 lation of subsection (a)(2) if the live poultry 

11 dealer determines the formula for calculating 

12 the pay of a poultry grower in a tournament 

13 group by comparing the performance of the 

14 birds of other poultry growers in the group 

15 using factors outside the control of the poultry 

16 grower and within the control of the live poultry 

17 dealer. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Under subparagraph 

19 (A), a live poultry dealer shall not be found in 

20 violation of subsection (a)(2) if the live poultry 

21 dealer demonstrates through clear and con22 vincing evidence that the inputs and services 

23 described in subparagraph (C) that were used 

24 in the comparative evaluation were substantially 

25 the same in quality, quantity, and timing, as 


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1 applicable, for all poultry growers in the tour2 nament group. 

3 ‘‘(C) INPUTS AND SERVICES DESCRIBED.— 

4 The inputs and services referred to in subpara5 graph (B) include, with respect to poultry grow6 ers in the same tournament group— 

7 ‘‘(i) the quantity, breed, sex, and age 

8 of chicks delivered to each poultry grower; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the breed and age of the breeder 

10 flock from which chicks are drawn for each 

11 poultry grower; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the quality, type (such as starter 

13 feed), and quantity of feed delivered to 

14 each poultry grower; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the quality of and access to 

16 medications for the birds of each poultry 

17 grower; 

18 ‘‘(v) the number of birds in a flock de19 livered to each poultry grower; 

20 ‘‘(vi) the timing of the pick-up of 

21 birds for processing (including the age of 

22 the birds and the number of days that the 

23 birds are in the care of the poultry grower) 

24 for each poultry grower; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) the death loss of birds during 

2 pick-up, transport, and time spent at the 

3 processing plant for each poultry grower; 

4 ‘‘(viii) condemnations of parts of birds 

5 due to actions in processing for each poul6 try grower; 

7 ‘‘(ix) condemnations of whole birds 

8 due to the fault of the poultry grower; 

9 ‘‘(x) the death loss of birds due to the 

10 fault of the poultry grower; 

11 ‘‘(xi) the stated reasons for the cause 

12 of the death losses and condemnations de13 scribed in clauses (vii) through (x); 

14 ‘‘(xii) the type and classification of 

15 each poultry grower; and 

16 ‘‘(xiii) any other input or service that 

17 may have an impact on feed conversion to 

18 weight gain efficiency or the life span of 

19 the birds of each poultry grower. 

20 ‘‘(d) HARM TO COMPETITION NOT REQUIRED.—In 

21 determining whether an act, device, or conduct is a viola22 tion under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), a find23 ing that the act, device, or conduct adversely affected or 

24 is likely to adversely affect competition is not required.’’. 

25 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

2 paragraph (8) of section 202(a) of the Packers and 

3 Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 192) (as designated 

4 by subsection (a)(2)), shall take effect on the date 

5 of enactment of this Act. 

6 (2) TRANSITION RULES.—In the case of a pack7 er that, on the date of enactment of this Act, owns, 

8 feeds, or controls livestock intended for slaughter in 

9 violation of paragraph (8) of section 202(a) of the 

10 Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 192) 

11 (as designated by subsection (a)(2)), that paragraph 

12 shall take effect— 

13 (A) in the case of a packer of swine, begin14 ning on the date that is 18 months after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act; and 

16 (B) in the case of a packer of any other 

17 type of livestock, beginning not later than 180 

18 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as 

19 determined by the Secretary. 

20 SEC. 206. SPOT MARKET PURCHASES OF LIVESTOCK BY 

21 PACKERS. 

22 The Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, is amended 

23 by inserting after section 202 (7 U.S.C. 192) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 202A. SPOT MARKET PURCHASES OF LIVESTOCK BY 

2 PACKERS. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) COVERED PACKER.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 

6 packer’ means a packer that is required under 

7 subtitle B of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

8 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635 et seq.) to report to the 

9 Secretary each reporting day information on the 

10 price and quantity of livestock purchased by the 

11 packer. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘covered 

13 packer’ does not include a packer that owns 

14 only 1 livestock processing plant. 

15 ‘‘(2) NONAFFILIATED PRODUCER.—The term 

16 ‘nonaffiliated producer’ means a producer of live17 stock— 

18 ‘‘(A) that sells livestock to a packer; 

19 ‘‘(B) that has less than 1 percent equity 

20 interest in the packer; 

21 ‘‘(C) that has no officers, directors, em22 ployees, or owners that are officers, directors, 

23 employees, or owners of the packer; 

24 ‘‘(D) that has no fiduciary responsibility to 

25 the packer; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) in which the packer has no equity in2 terest. 

3 ‘‘(3) SPOT MARKET SALE.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘spot mar5 ket sale’ means a purchase and sale of livestock 

6 by a packer from a producer— 

7 ‘‘(i) under an agreement that specifies 

8 a firm base price that may be equated with 

9 a fixed dollar amount on the date the 

10 agreement is entered into; 

11 ‘‘(ii) under which the livestock are 

12 slaughtered not more than 7 days after the 

13 date on which the agreement is entered 

14 into; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) under circumstances in which a 

16 reasonable competitive bidding opportunity 

17 exists on the date on which the agreement 

18 is entered into. 

19 ‘‘(B) REASONABLE COMPETITIVE BIDDING

20 OPPORTUNITY.—For the purposes of subpara21 graph (A)(iii), a reasonable competitive bidding 

22 opportunity shall be considered to exist if— 

23 ‘‘(i) no written or oral agreement pre24 cludes the producer from soliciting or re25 ceiving bids from other packers; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) no circumstance, custom, or 

2 practice exists that— 

3 ‘‘(I) establishes the existence of 

4 an implied contract (as determined in 

5 accordance with the Uniform Com6 mercial Code); and 

7 ‘‘(II) precludes the producer from 

8 soliciting or receiving bids from other 

9 packers. 

10 ‘‘(b) GENERAL RULE.—Of the quantity of livestock 

11 that is slaughtered by a covered packer during each re12 porting day in each plant, the covered packer shall slaugh13 ter not less than the applicable percentage specified in 

14 subsection (c) of the quantity through spot market sales 

15 from nonaffiliated producers. 

16 ‘‘(c) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), the applicable percentage shall be 50 per19 cent. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—In the case of a covered 

21 packer that reported to the Secretary in the 2020 

22 annual report that more than 60 percent of the live23 stock of the covered packer were committed procure24 ment livestock, the applicable percentage shall be the 

25 greater of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the difference between the percentage 

2 of committed procurement so reported and 100 

3 percent; and 

4 ‘‘(B)(i) during each of calendar years 2024 

5 and 2025, 20 percent; 

6 ‘‘(ii) during each of calendar years 2026 

7 and 2027, 30 percent; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) during calendar year 2028 and each 

9 calendar year thereafter, 50 percent. 

10 ‘‘(d) NONPREEMPTION.—This section does not pre11 empt any requirement of a State or political subdivision 

12 of a State that requires a covered packer to purchase on 

13 the spot market a greater percentage of the livestock pur14 chased by the covered packer than is required under this 

15 section.’’. 

16 SEC. 207. INVESTIGATION OF LIVE POULTRY DEALERS. 

17 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY

18 OVER LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.—Sections 203, 204, and 

19 205 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 

20 193, 194, 195), are amended by inserting ‘‘, live poultry 

21 dealer,’’ after ‘‘packer’’ each place it appears. 

22 (b) AUTHORITY TO REQUEST TEMPORARY INJUNC23 TION OR RESTRAINING ORDER.—Section 408(a) of the 

24 Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 228a(a)), is 


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1 amended by inserting ‘‘or poultry care’’ after ‘‘on account 

2 of poultry’’. 

3 (c) VIOLATIONS BY LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.—Sec4 tion 411 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 

5 U.S.C. 228b–2), is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by 

7 striking ‘‘any provision of section 207 or section 410 

8 of’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by 

10 striking ‘‘any provisions of section 207 or section 

11 410’’ and inserting ‘‘any provision’’. 

12 SEC. 208. AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES. 

13 Section 204 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 

14 (7 U.S.C. 194), is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(i) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—The court shall award a rea17 sonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs to a prevailing 

18 plaintiff in a civil action under this section.’’. 

19 SEC. 209. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

20 (a) Section 203 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

21 1921 (7 U.S.C. 193), is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘he shall cause’’ and in24 serting ‘‘the Secretary shall cause’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘his charges’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘the charges’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by 

4 striking ‘‘he shall make a report in writing in which 

5 he shall state his findings’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec6 retary shall make a report in writing in which the 

7 Secretary shall state the findings of the Secretary’’; 

8 and 

9 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘he’’ and in10 serting ‘‘the Secretary’’. 

11 (b) Section 204 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

12 1921 (7 U.S.C. 194), is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘he has his’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘the packer, live poultry dealer, or 

15 swine contractor has the’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘his officers, 

17 directors, agents, and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

18 officers, directors, agents, and employees of the 

19 packer, live poultry dealer, or swine packer’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (f), in the second sentence— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘his findings’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘the findings of the Secretary’’; and 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

24 Secretary’’; and 


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1 (4) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘his officers, 

2 directors, agents, and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

3 officers, directors, agents, and employees of the 

4 packer, live poultry dealer, or swine packer’’. 

5 TITLE III—GAO REPORTS 

6 SEC. 301. REVIEW AND REPORT ON FRAGILITY AND NA7 TIONAL SECURITY IN THE FOOD SYSTEM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

10 of the United States shall carry out, and submit to Con11 gress a report containing, a review of the fragility of the 

12 food system in the United States with respect to meat and 

13 poultry. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under subsection 

15 (a) shall include information on, and an analysis of— 

16 (1) the reach of corporate consolidation and 

17 corporate control of the meat and poultry supply 

18 chain, including animal feed, inputs for animal feed, 

19 processing, and distribution; 

20 (2) the effects of corporate consolidation and 

21 corporate control of the meat and poultry supply 

22 chain on— 

23 (A) consumers, farmers, rural commu24 nities, and meat and poultry processing work25 ers; 


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1 (B) greenhouse gas emissions, climate 

2 change, and costs borne by communities to 

3 adapt to climate change; 

4 (C) water quality, soil quality, air quality, 

5 and biodiversity; and 

6 (D) politics and political lobbying; 

7 (3)(A) the extent to which Department of Agri8 culture rules and regulations designed for large cov9 ered establishments are applied to small- and me10 dium-sized covered establishments; and 

11 (B) the need for the Secretary of Agriculture to 

12 adapt rules and regulations to benefit small- and 

13 medium-sized covered establishments; 

14 (4) the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic on 

15 meat and poultry exports, meat and poultry cold 

16 storage inventories, processing rates of meat and 

17 poultry, and the net profits earned by owners of cov18 ered establishments; 

19 (5) the effect of the COVID–19 pandemic on 

20 meat and poultry prices paid— 

21 (A) to farmers; and 

22 (B) by consumers; 

23 (6) Federal support for the corporations that 

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1 try industry through contracts, procurement, sub2 sidies, and other mechanisms; 

3 (7) the risk of disruption caused by corporate 

4 consolidation among covered establishments, includ5 ing an analysis of food supply chain issues resulting 

6 from the COVID–19 pandemic; and 

7 (8) the extent to which breaking up the meat 

8 packing oligopoly would increase food system resil9 iency for the next pandemic. 

10 SEC. 302. REVIEW AND REPORT ON RACIAL AND ETHNIC 

11 DISPARITIES IN MEAT AND POULTRY PROC12 ESSING. 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

15 shall carry out, and submit to Congress, a report on racial 

16 and ethnic disparities in the meat and poultry processing 

17 sector. Such report shall contain a review of each of the 

18 following: 

19 (1) The impacts of working in covered estab20 lishments to individuals working at such establish21 ments who are employees, temporary workers, incar22 cerated workers, noncitizen workers admitted to the 

23 United States as nonimmigrants described in section 

24 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of the Immigration and Nation25 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b)) or as refVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:25 Feb 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H798.IH H798

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1 ugees under section 207 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1157), or noncitizen workers who are not lawfully 

3 present in the United States. Such review shall in4 clude a review of— 

5 (A) workplace injuries, including repetitive 

6 musculoskeletal injuries, of such individuals; 

7 (B) psychological and mental health condi8 tions of such individuals; 

9 (C) exposure of such individuals to chemi10 cals or other potential carcinogens and repro11 ductive toxins; 

12 (D) any physical or mental abuse, includ13 ing sexual harassment, of such individuals by 

14 co-workers or managers; 

15 (E) the risk of exposure to SARS–CoV–2 

16 for such individuals; 

17 (F) the extent to which such individuals 

18 are unable to seek appropriate relief for work19 place injuries, abuse, and protection from expo20 sure to SARS–CoV–2 during the COVID–19 

21 emergency for fear of retaliation; and 

22 (G) COVID–19 deaths and illnesses of 

23 such individuals, including the short- and long24 term effects of COVID–19 for such individuals. 


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1 (2) The racial demographics and use of tem2 porary workers to outsource the responsibility of 

3 covered establishments to provide a safe workplace. 

4 (3) The racial demographics and use of incar5 cerated workers in covered establishments, includ6 ing— 

7 (A) the extent to which such workers have 

8 a choice in working at covered establishments; 

9 (B) the use of such workers to outsource 

10 the responsibility of covered establishments to 

11 provide a safe workplace; 

12 (C) the use of such workers to outsource 

13 the responsibility of covered establishments to 

14 provide fair compensation; and 

15 (D) the use of such workers by covered es16 tablishments to externalize employee cost. 

17 (4) The racial demographics and use of noncit18 izen workers admitted to the United States as non19 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) 

20 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b)) or as refugees under section 

22 207 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) at covered estab23 lishments, including— 

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1 ers to choose and move between competing or2 ganizations, are utilized by covered establish3 ments with respect to such workers; 

4 (B) the extent to which such workers are 

5 unable to speak out for fear of retaliation; and 

6 (C) the extent to which there is full trans7 parency about the nature of employment of 

8 such workers prior to being hired. 

9 (5) The racial demographics and use of noncit10 izen workers who are not lawfully present in the 

11 United States at covered establishments, including— 

12 (A) the extent to which such workers are 

13 unable to speak out for fear of retaliation; and 

14 (B) whether any collusion between Federal 

15 immigration offices and covered establishments 

16 have the effect of intimidating and silencing 

17 such workers. 

18 SEC. 303. GAO REPORT ON LINE SPEEDS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

20 end of the covered period, the Comptroller General of the 

21 United States shall carry out, and submit to Congress a 

22 report containing, a review of the actions taken by the Sec23 retary, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of 

24 Health and Human Services in response to the COVID– 


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1 19 pandemic to determine the effectiveness of those ac2 tions in protecting animal, food, and worker safety. 

3 (b) CONTENTS.—The review carried out under sub4 section (a) shall include information on, and an analysis 

5 of, with respect to covered establishments— 

6 (1) all policies and regulations relating to in7 spection of those establishments that have been im8 plemented by the Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, 

9 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

10 during the COVID–19 emergency and the covered 

11 period; 

12 (2) the pandemic emergency preparedness plans 

13 of those establishments; 

14 (3) the extent to which those establishments 

15 have implemented guidance and recommendations to 

16 space workers 6 feet apart on production lines and 

17 in break rooms, locker rooms, and all other work18 spaces; 

19 (4) the extent to which those establishments 

20 maintain policies and procedures that discourage 

21 workers from reporting exposure, seeking treatment, 

22 or remaining in isolation, including— 

23 (A) bonus or work incentive programs; and 

24 (B) sick leave that does not cover the full 

25 pay of a worker; 


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1 (5) the extent to which those establishments 

2 provide communications and training about COVID– 

3 19 in a language and at a literacy level workers un4 derstand; 

5 (6)(A) the quantity and quality of face masks 

6 and personal protective equipment, such as face 

7 shields and respirators, made available to workers at 

8 those establishments; 

9 (B) whether the face masks and personal pro10 tective equipment are provided to the workers free of 

11 charge; and 

12 (C) usage of the face masks and personal pro13 tective equipment by the workers; 

14 (7) any guidance provided to inspectors of those 

15 establishments by the Secretary, the Secretary of 

16 Labor, or the Secretary of Health and Human Serv17 ices during the COVID–19 emergency; 

18 (8) actions taken by the Secretary, the Sec19 retary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services to protect workers, animals, and 

21 food at establishments that have reported cases of 

22 COVID–19; 

23 (9) all humane handling reports issued, and en24 forcement actions taken, by the Secretary during the 

25 COVID–19 emergency pursuant to— 


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1 (A) Public Law 85–765 (commonly known 

2 as the ‘‘Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 

3 1958’’) (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.); and 

4 (B) good commercial practices regulations 

5 promulgated under the Poultry Products In6 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.); 

7 (10) the impact of faster line speeds on the 

8 ability of those establishments to maintain protec9 tions for workers; 

10 (11) any instance of interference by a Federal 

11 agency with the contents of any report of findings 

12 based on a review of a covered establishment experi13 encing an outbreak of COVID–19 conducted by per14 sonnel of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre15 vention; and 

16 (12) any instance of interference by a Federal 

17 agency with the recommended actions of a State or 

18 local health department to close a covered facility ex19 periencing COVID–19-related deaths and disease. 

Æ 


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