I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2067 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for certain violators, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2009 

Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BRADY of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. COHEN, Mr. HARE, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. 

HOLT, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. PAYNE, 

Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, 

Mr. YARMUTH, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections 

for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for certain violators, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting America’s 

5 Workers Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of the Occupational Safety and 

7 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 

8 TITLE I—COVERAGE AND 

9 APPLICATION OF ACT 

10 SEC. 101. COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(5) (29 U.S.C. 652(5)) 

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

13 follows through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘in14 cluding the United States, a State, or a political subdivi15 sion of a State.’’. 

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

17 construed to affect the application of section 18 of the Oc18 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

19 667). 

20 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF ACT. 

21 Section 4(b) (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1)) is amended— 

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

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

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

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) If a Federal agency has promulgated and is en2 forcing a standard or regulation affecting occupational 

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

4 that agency’s regulatory jurisdiction, and the Secretary 

5 determines that such a standard or regulation as promul6 gated and the manner in which the standard or regulation 

7 is being enforced provides protection to those employees 

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

9 those employees by this Act and the Secretary’s enforce10 ment of this Act, the Secretary may publish a certification 

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

12 that determination and the reasons for the determination 

13 and certify that the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to 

14 that Federal agency with respect to the specified standard 

15 or regulation affecting occupational safety or health. In 

16 determining whether to cede jurisdiction to a Federal 

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

18 and conflicts between, health and safety requirements. 

19 Such certification shall remain in effect unless and until 

20 rescinded by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish pro22 cedures by which any person who may be adversely af23 fected by a decision of the Secretary certifying that the 

24 Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Federal agency 

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


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

2 receipt of such a petition, the Secretary shall investigate 

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

4 of the petition, publish a decision with respect to the peti5 tion in the Federal Register. 

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

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

8 the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Fed9 eral agency pursuant to paragraph (1); or 

10 ‘‘(B) a decision of the Secretary denying a peti11 tion to rescind such a certification notice under 

12 paragraph (1), 

13 may, not later than 60 days after such decision is pub14 lished in the Federal Register, file a petition challenging 

15 such decision with the United States court of appeals for 

16 the circuit in which such person resides or such person 

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

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

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

20 Secretary’s decision shall be set aside if found to be arbi21 trary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not 

22 in accordance with law. 

23 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to working condi24 tions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

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


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1 TITLE II—INCREASING PROTEC2 TIONS FOR WHISTLE BLOW3 ERS 

4 SEC. 201. EMPLOYEE ACTIONS. 

5 Section 11(c)(1) (29 U.S.C. 660(c)(1)) is amended 

6 by inserting before the period at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘, including reporting any injury, illness, or unsafe condi8 tion to the employer, agent of the employer, safety and 

9 health committee involved, or employee safety and health 

10 representative involved’’. 

11 SEC. 202. PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION. 

12 Section 11(c) (29 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by strik13 ing paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) No person shall discharge or in any manner dis15 criminate against an employee for refusing to perform the 

16 employee’s duties if the employee has a reasonable appre17 hension that performing such duties would result in seri18 ous injury to, or serious impairment of the health of, the 

19 employee or other employees. The circumstances causing 

20 the employee’s apprehension of serious injury or serious 

21 impairment of health shall be of such a nature that a rea22 sonable person, under the circumstances confronting the 

23 employee, would conclude that there is a bona fide danger 

24 of a serious injury, or serious impairment of health, result25 ing from the circumstances. In order to qualify for protecVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:56 Apr 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2067.IH H2067

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1 tion under this paragraph, the employee, when practicable, 

2 shall have sought from the employee’s employer, and have 

3 been unable to obtain, a correction of the circumstances 

4 causing the refusal to perform the employee’s duties.’’. 

5 SEC. 203. PROCEDURE. 

6 Section 11(c) (29 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by strik7 ing paragraph (3) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) Any employee who believes that the employee 

9 has been discharged, disciplined, or otherwise discrimi10 nated against by any person in violation of paragraph (1) 

11 or (2) may, within 180 days after such alleged violation 

12 occurs, file (or have filed by any person on the employee’s 

13 behalf) a complaint with the Secretary alleging that such 

14 discharge or discrimination violates paragraph (1) or (2). 

15 Upon receipt of such a complaint, the Secretary shall no16 tify the person named in the complaint (referred to in this 

17 subsection as the ‘respondent’) of the filing of the com18 plaint. 

19 ‘‘(4)(A)(i) Not later than 60 days after the receipt 

20 of a complaint filed under paragraph (3), the Secretary 

21 shall conduct an investigation and determine whether 

22 there is reasonable cause to believe that the complaint has 

23 merit. During the investigation, the Secretary shall notify 

24 the respondent of the charges made in the complaint, and 

25 shall provide such person with an opportunity to meet with 


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1 the inspector conducting the investigation, to submit a re2 sponse to such charges, and to present witnesses to rebut 

3 such charges. The Secretary shall also consider the result 

4 of any grievance proceeding provided for in a collective 

5 bargaining agreement, that may have been held with re6 spect to such charges. Upon completion of the investiga7 tion, the Secretary shall issue findings and notify the com8 plainant and the respondent of the Secretary’s findings. 

9 If the Secretary has concluded that there is reasonable 

10 cause to believe that a violation has occurred, the Sec11 retary’s findings shall be accompanied by a preliminary 

12 order providing the relief prescribed by subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(ii)(I) Not later than 30 days after the Secretary 

14 has issued findings under clause (i), either the respondent 

15 or the complainant may file objections to the findings or 

16 preliminary order, and request a hearing on the record, 

17 except that the filing of such objections shall not operate 

18 to stay any reinstatement remedy contained in the prelimi19 nary order. 

20 ‘‘(II) If a hearing described in subclause (I) is not 

21 requested in the 30-day period described in such subclause 

22 with respect to a preliminary order, the order shall be 

23 deemed to be a final order and not subject to judicial re24 view. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) If the Secretary does not issue findings under 

2 clause (i) with respect to a complaint within 90 days after 

3 the receipt of the complaint, the complainant may request 

4 a hearing on the record on the complaint. 

5 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall expeditiously conduct a 

6 hearing requested under clause (ii) or (iii). Upon the con7 clusion of such hearing, the Secretary shall issue a final 

8 order within 120 days. Until the issuance of a final order, 

9 such hearing may be terminated at any time on the basis 

10 of a settlement agreement entered into by the Secretary, 

11 the complainant, and the respondent. 

12 ‘‘(B)(i) If, in response to a complaint filed under 

13 paragraph (3), the Secretary determines that a violation 

14 of paragraph (1) or (2) has occurred, in issuing an order 

15 under subparagraph (A)(iv), the Secretary shall require— 

16 ‘‘(I) the respondent who committed such viola17 tion to correct the violation; 

18 ‘‘(II) such respondent to reinstate the complain19 ant to the complainant’s former position together 

20 with the compensation (including backpay), terms, 

21 conditions, and privileges of the complainant’s em22 ployment; and 

23 ‘‘(III) such respondent to pay compensatory 

24 damages. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) On issuing an order requiring a remedy de2 scribed in clause (i), the Secretary, at the request of the 

3 complainant, may assess against the respondent against 

4 whom the order is issued a sum equal to the aggregate 

5 amount of all costs and expenses (including attorney’s 

6 fees) reasonably incurred, as determined by the Secretary, 

7 by the complainant for, or in connection with a complaint 

8 upon which the order was issued. 

9 ‘‘(5)(A) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved 

10 by an order issued after a hearing conducted under para11 graph (4)(A) may obtain review of the order in the United 

12 States court of appeals for the circuit in which the viola13 tion, with respect to which the order was issued, allegedly 

14 occurred, or the circuit in which such person resided on 

15 the date of such violation. The petition for review shall 

16 be filed within 60 days after the issuance of the Sec17 retary’s order. Such review shall be conducted in accord18 ance with the provisions of chapter 7 of title 5, United 

19 States Code. The court shall conduct the review and issue 

20 a decision expeditiously. 

21 ‘‘(B) If a respondent fails to comply with an order 

22 issued under paragraph (4)(A), the Secretary shall file a 

23 civil action in the United States district court for the dis24 trict in which the violation was found to occur in order 

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1 paragraph, the district court shall have jurisdiction to 

2 grant all appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, re3 instatement, and compensatory damages. 

4 ‘‘(6) The legal burdens of proof set forth in section 

5 1221(e) of title 5, United States Code, shall govern adju6 dication of violations under this subsection.’’. 

7 SEC. 204. RELATION TO ENFORCEMENT. 

8 Section 17(j) (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended by in9 serting before the period the following: ‘‘, including the 

10 history of violations, under section 11(c)’’. 

11 TITLE III—INCREASING 

12 PENALTIES FOR VIOLATORS 

13 SEC. 301. POSTING OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. 

14 Section 8(c)(1) (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(1)) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such regu16 lations shall include provisions requiring employers to post 

17 for employees information on the protections afforded 

18 under section 11(c).’’. 

19 SEC. 302. PROHIBITION ON DISCOURAGING EMPLOYEE RE20 PORTS OF INJURY OR ILLNESS. 

21 Section 8(c)(2) (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(2)) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such regu23 lations shall prohibit the adoption or implementation of 

24 policies or practices by the employer that discourage the 

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1 ployee or in any manner discriminate or provide for ad2 verse action against any employee for reporting a work3 related injury or illness.’’ 

4 SEC. 303. NO LOSS OF EMPLOYEE PAY FOR INSPECTIONS. 

5 Section 8(e) (29 U.S.C. 657) is amended by inserting 

6 after the first sentence the following: ‘‘Time spent by an 

7 employee participating in or aiding any such inspection 

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

9 suffer any loss of wages, benefits, or other terms and con10 ditions of employment for having participated in or aided 

11 any such inspection.’’. 

12 SEC. 304. INVESTIGATIONS OF FATALITIES AND SERIOUS 

13 INCIDENTS. 

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

15 the end the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(i)(1) The Secretary shall investigate any incident 

17 resulting in death or serious incident, that occurs in a 

18 place of employment covered by this Act. 

19 ‘‘(2) If an incident resulting in death or serious inci20 dent occurs in a place of employment covered by this Act, 

21 the employer shall notify the Secretary of the incident in22 volved and shall take appropriate measures to prevent the 

23 destruction or alteration of any evidence that would assist 

24 in investigating the incident. The appropriate measures re25 quired by this paragraph do not prevent an employer from 


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1 taking action on a worksite to prevent injury to employees 

2 or substantial damage to property. If an employer takes 

3 such action, the employer shall notify the Secretary of the 

4 action in a timely fashion. 

5 ‘‘(3) In this subsection: 

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

7 term ‘incident resulting in death’ means an incident 

8 that results in the death of an employee. 

9 ‘‘(B) SERIOUS INCIDENT.—The term ‘serious 

10 incident’ means an incident that results in the hos11 pitalization of 2 or more employees.’’. 

12 SEC. 305. PROHIBITION ON UNCLASSIFIED CITATIONS. 

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

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(d) The Secretary may not designate a citation 

16 issued under this section as an unclassified citation.’’. 

17 SEC. 306. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

18 The Act is amended by inserting after section 9 (29 

19 U.S.C. 658) the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 9A. VICTIM’S RIGHTS. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘victim’ 

22 means— 

23 ‘‘(1) an employee who has sustained a work-re24 lated injury or illness that is the subject of an inVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:56 Apr 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2067.IH H2067

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1 spection or investigation conducted under section 8, 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(2) a family member of an employee, if— 

4 ‘‘(A) the employee is killed as a result of 

5 a work-related injury or illness that is the sub6 ject of an inspection or investigation conducted 

7 under section 8; or 

8 ‘‘(B) the employee sustains a work-related 

9 injury or illness that is the subject of an inspec10 tion or investigation conducted under section 8, 

11 and the employee cannot reasonably exercise 

12 the employee’s rights under this section. 

13 ‘‘(b) RIGHTS.—On request, a victim or the represent14 ative of a victim, shall be afforded the right, with respect 

15 to a work-related injury or illness (including a death re16 sulting from a work-related injury or illness) involving an 

17 employee, to— 

18 ‘‘(1) meet with the Secretary, or an authorized 

19 representative of the Secretary, regarding the in20 spection or investigation conducted under section 8 

21 concerning the employee’s injury or illness before the 

22 Secretary’s decision to issue a citation or take no ac23 tion; and 

24 ‘‘(2)(A) receive, at no cost, a copy of any cita25 tion or report, issued as a result of such inspection 


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1 or investigation, on the later of the date the citation 

2 or report is issued and the date of the request; 

3 ‘‘(B) be informed of any notice of contest filed 

4 under section 10; and 

5 ‘‘(C) be provided an explanation of the rights of 

6 employee and employee representatives to participate 

7 in proceedings conducted under section 10. 

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

9 into an agreement to withdraw or modify a citation issued 

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

11 resulting in death or serious incident under section 8, the 

12 Secretary, on request, shall provide an opportunity to the 

13 victim or the representative of a victim to appear and 

14 make a statement before the parties conducting settlement 

15 negotiations. 

16 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION AND REVIEW.—The Secretary 

17 shall establish procedures— 

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

19 section; and 

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

21 denial of such a right.’’. 

22 SEC. 307. RIGHT TO CONTEST CITATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

23 The first sentence of section 10(c) (29 U.S.C. 659(c)) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting after ‘‘the issuance of a cita2 tion’’ the following: ‘‘(including a modification of a 

3 citation issued)’’; and 

4 (2) by inserting after ‘‘files a notice with the 

5 Secretary alleging’’ the following: ‘‘that the citation 

6 fails properly to designate the violation as serious, 

7 willful, or repeated, that the proposed penalty is not 

8 adequate, or’’. 

9 SEC. 308. ABATEMENT OF SERIOUS HAZARDS DURING EM10 PLOYER CONTESTS TO A CITATION. 

11 (a) CITATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT.—Section 10(b) 

12 (29 U.S.C. 659(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) by inserting after ‘‘which period’’ the fol14 lowing: ‘‘for other than serious violations’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In lieu 

16 of providing the notification required by this sub17 section, where a notice of contest to a citation is 

18 pending before the Commission, the Secretary may 

19 by appropriate motion in that proceeding assert that 

20 the employer has failed to abate the violation within 

21 the time period fixed in the citation.’’. 

22 (b) EMPLOYER CONTEST.—Section 10(c) (29 U.S.C. 

23 659) is amended by inserting after the first sentence the 

24 following: ‘‘The pendency of a contest before the Commis25 sion shall not bar the Secretary from inspecting a place 


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1 of employment or from issuing a citation under section 

2 9.’’. 

3 SEC. 309. OBJECTIONS TO MODIFICATION OF CITATIONS. 

4 Section 10 (29 U.S.C. 659) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(d)(1) If the Secretary intends to withdraw or to 

7 modify a citation issued under section 9(a) as a result of 

8 any agreement with the cited employer, the Secretary shall 

9 provide (in accordance with rules of procedure prescribed 

10 by the Commission) prompt notice to affected employees 

11 or representatives of affected employees, and that notice 

12 shall include the terms of the proposed agreement. 

13 ‘‘(2) Not later than 15 working days after the receipt 

14 of a notice provided in accordance with paragraph (1), any 

15 employee or representative of employees, regardless of 

16 whether such employee or representative has previously 

17 elected to participate in the proceedings involved, shall 

18 have the right to file a notice with the Secretary alleging 

19 that the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the pur20 poses of this Act and stating the respects in which the 

21 agreement fails to effectuate the purposes. 

22 ‘‘(3) Upon receipt of a notice filed under paragraph 

23 (2), the Secretary shall consider the statements presented 

24 in the notice, and if the Secretary determines to proceed 

25 with the proposed agreement, the Secretary shall respond 


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1 with particularity to the statements presented in the no2 tice. 

3 ‘‘(4) Not later than 15 working days following the 

4 Secretary’s response provided pursuant to paragraph (3), 

5 the employee or representative of employees shall, on mak6 ing a request to the Commission, be entitled to a hearing 

7 before the Commission as to whether adoption of the pro8 posed agreement would effectuate the purposes of this Act, 

9 including a determination as to whether the proposed 

10 agreement would adequately abate the alleged violations 

11 alleged in the citation. 

12 ‘‘(5) If the Commission determines that the proposed 

13 agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of this Act, the 

14 proposed agreement shall not be entered as an order of 

15 the Commission and the citation shall not be withdrawn 

16 or modified in accordance with the proposed agreement.’’. 

17 SEC. 310. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 (29 U.S.C. 666) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

22 ‘‘$120,000’’; 

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

24 ‘‘$8,000’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If 

2 such a violation causes the death of an em3 ployee, such civil penalty amounts shall be in4 creased to not more than $250,000 for such 

5 violation, but not less than $50,000 for such 

6 violation, except that for an employer with 25 

7 or fewer employees such penalty shall not be 

8 less than $25,000 for such violation.’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

11 ‘‘$12,000’’; and 

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

13 such a violation causes the death of an em14 ployee, such civil penalty amounts shall be in15 creased to not more than $50,000 for such vio16 lation, but not less than $20,000 for such viola17 tion, except that for an employer with 25 or 

18 fewer employees such penalty shall not be less 

19 than $10,000 for such violation.’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (c)— 

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

22 ‘‘$12,000’’; and 

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

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1 creased to not more than $50,000 for such vio2 lation, but not less than $20,000 for such viola3 tion, except that for an employer with 25 or 

4 fewer employees such penalty shall not be less 

5 than $10,000 for such violation.’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (d)— 

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

8 ‘‘$12,000’’; and 

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

10 such a violation causes the death of an em11 ployee, such civil penalty amounts shall be in12 creased to not more than $50,000 for such vio13 lation, but not less than $20,000 for such viola14 tion, except that for an employer with 25 or 

15 fewer employees such penalty shall not be less 

16 than $10,000 for such violation.’’; 

17 (5) by redesignating subsections (e) through (l) 

18 as subsections (f) through (m), respectively; and 

19 (6) in subsection (j) (as redesignated in para20 graph (5)), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘$12,000;’’. 

22 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 17 (29 

23 U.S.C. 666) (as amended by subsection (a)) is further 

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


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

2 penalties shall be adjusted by the Secretary at least once 

3 during each 4-year period to account for the percentage 

4 increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for all 

5 urban consumers during such period.’’. 

6 SEC. 311. OSHA CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 (29 U.S.C. 666) (as 

8 amended by section 310) is further amended— 

9 (1) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(f)(1) Any employer who willfully violates any stand12 ard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to section 6 of 

13 this Act, or of any regulations prescribed pursuant to this 

14 Act, and that violation caused death to any employee, 

15 shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine in accordance 

16 with section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, or by 

17 imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both; except 

18 that if the conviction is for a violation committed after 

19 a first conviction of such person under this subsection or 

20 subsection (i), punishment shall be by a fine in accordance 

21 with section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, or by 

22 imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or by both. 

23 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em24 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

25 section 3 of this Act, any responsible corporate officer.’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘fine of not 

2 more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more 

3 than six months,’’ and inserting ‘‘fine in accordance 

4 with section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, or 

5 by imprisonment for not more than 2 years,’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘fine of not 

7 more than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not 

8 more than six months,’’ and inserting ‘‘fine in ac9 cordance with section 3571 of title 18, United States 

10 Code, or by imprisonment for not more than 5 

11 years,’’; 

12 (4) by redesignating subsections (j) through 

13 (m) as subsections (k) through (n), respectively; and 

14 (5) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(j)(1) Any employer who willfully violates any stand17 ard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to section 6, or 

18 any regulation prescribed pursuant to this Act, and that 

19 violation causes serious bodily injury to any employee but 

20 does not cause death to any employee, shall, upon convic21 tion, be punished by a fine in accordance with section 

22 3571 of title 18, United States Code, or by imprisonment 

23 for not more than 5 years, or by both, except that if the 

24 conviction is for a violation committed after a first convic25 tion of such person under this subsection or subsection 


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1 (e), punishment shall be by a fine in accordance with sec2 tion 3571 of title 18, United States Code, or by imprison3 ment for not more than 10 years, or by both. 

4 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em5 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

6 section 3 of this Act, any responsible corporate officer.’’. 

7 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 3 (29 U.S.C. 652) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(15) The term ‘serious bodily injury’ means 

10 bodily injury that involves— 

11 ‘‘(A) a substantial risk of death; 

12 ‘‘(B) protracted unconsciousness; 

13 ‘‘(C) protracted and obvious physical dis14 figurement; or 

15 ‘‘(D) protracted loss or impairment, of the 

16 function of a bodily member, organ, or mental 

17 faculty.’’. 

18 (c) JURISDICTION FOR PROSECUTION UNDER STATE

19 AND LOCAL CRIMINAL LAWS.—Section 17 (29 U.S.C. 

20 666) (as amended by subsection (a)) is further amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

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

23 local law enforcement agency from conducting criminal 

24 prosecutions in accordance with the laws of such State or 

25 locality.’’. 


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23 

•HR 2067 IH

1 TITLE IV—EFFECTIVE DATE 

2 SEC. 401. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

3 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided for in sub4 section (b), this Act and the amendments made by this 

5 Act shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 (b) EXCEPTIONS FOR STATES AND POLITICAL SUB8 DIVISIONS.—The following are exceptions to the effective 

9 date described in subsection (a): 

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

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

12 State plan to conform with the requirements of this 

13 Act and the amendments made by this Act not later 

14 than 12 months after the date of enactment of this 

15 Act. Such amendments to the State plan shall take 

16 effect not later than 90 days after the adoption of 

17 such amendments by such State. 

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

19 Act shall take effect not later than 36 months after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act in a State, or 

21 a political subdivision of a State, that does not have 

22 a State plan approved under section 18 (29 U.S.C. 

23 667). 

Æ 


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