I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1834

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 14, 1995

Mr. BALLENGER (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. BARRETT

of Nebraska, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. BUNNING of Kentucky,

Mr. BURR, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr. CASTLE, Mr.

CHAMBLISS, Mr. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. COBLE, Mr. COOLEY, Mr.

CREMEANS, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. DELAY, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FUNDERBURK, Mr.

GRAHAM, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr. HANSEN, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HEINEMAN, Mr. HERGER, Mr.

HOEKSTRA, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. SAM

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JONES, Jr., Ms. KELLY, Mr. KLUG, Mr.

KOLLENBERG, Mr. LINDER, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. MCKEON, Mr.

MCINTOSH, Ms. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. MICA, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. PAXON, Mr. PETRI, Mrs. PRYCE, Mr. RIGGS, Mr. SALMON,

Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. STUMP, Mr. TALENT, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. WALKER, Mr. WAMP, Mr. WELDON

of Florida, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. ZELIFF) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities

A BILL

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•HR 1834 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF2 ERENCE.

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

4 ‘‘Safety and Health Improvement and Regulatory Reform

5 Act of 1995’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; reference.

Sec. 2. Standards.

Sec. 3. Notice of violation.

Sec. 4. Consultation, incentives for voluntary action, and technical assistance.

Sec. 5. Removal of barriers to voluntary safety and health activities.

Sec. 6. Inspections.

Sec. 7. Employer defenses.

Sec. 8. Penalties.

Sec. 9. Review by the Commission.

Sec. 10. NIOSH repealed.

Sec. 11. State Workmen’s Compensation Commission repealed.

Sec. 12. State programs.

Sec. 13. Discrimination.

Sec. 14. Coverage of Federal agencies.

Sec. 15. Federal agency safety programs.

Sec. 16. Prevention of alcohol and substance abuse.

Sec. 17. Mine safety and health.

Sec. 18. Recordkeeping and reporting.

Sec. 19. Definitions.

Sec. 20. Miscellaneous technical amendments.

Sec. 21. Effective date.

7 (c) REFERENCE.—Except as otherwise expressly pro8 vided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is

9 expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a

10 section or other provision, the reference shall be consid11 ered to be made to a section or other provision of the Oc12 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

13 SEC. 2. STANDARDS.

14 (a) PROMULGATION AND MODIFICATION.—Section

15 6(b)(1) (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(1)) is amended to read as

16 follows:
3

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(1) The promulgation and modification of

2 standards under this section shall be based upon

3 sound scientific data in the field and on such re4 search, demonstrations, experiments, and such other

5 information as may be appropriate. The Secretary

6 shall ensure an adequate record for any standard.

7 Each standard shall be based upon the following

8 analyses and criteria:

9 ‘‘(A) A regulatory impact analysis pre10 pared under subsection (h).

11 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the risks to workers

12 resulting from the hazard being addressed by

13 the standard. The assessment shall be con14 tained in a risk assessment document prepared

15 in accordance with the principles for risk as16 sessment and characterization prescribed in

17 subsection (i).

18 ‘‘(C) An identification of the benefits and

19 costs of the standard conducted in accordance

20 with subsection (k).

21 ‘‘(D) A determination that the standard is

22 needed to address a significant risk of material

23 impairment to the health or safety of employees

24 in each industry to which it applies and will

25 substantially reduce that risk.
4

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(E) A determination that the standard is

2 economically and technologically feasible and

3 practical in each industry to which it applies.

4 ‘‘(F) A determination that the incremental

5 risk reduction or other benefits of the standard

6 justify, and are reasonably related to, the incre7 mental costs incurred in each industry to which

8 the standard applies.

9 ‘‘(G) A determination that the standard

10 will provide protection to workers in the most

11 cost-effective manner and minimize employment

12 loss due to the standard in the affected indus13 tries.

14 ‘‘(H) Whenever practicable, the standard

15 shall be expressed in terms of objective criteria

16 and of the performance desired.’’.

17 (b) SEPARATE RULES FOR CERTAIN HAZARDS.—

18 Paragraph (5) of section 6(b)(5) (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(5))

19 is repealed.

20 (c) VARIANCES.—Section 6(d) (29 U.S.C. 655(d)) is

21 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the Sec22 retary has failed to approve or disapprove an application

23 for a variance within 90 days of the filing of such applica24 tion, the variance shall be deemed to have been issued as
5

•HR 1834 IH

1 of the date of such filing unless the applicant and the Sec2 retary agree to a longer time period.’’.

3 (d) REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS.—Section 6 (29

4 U.S.C. 655) is amended by adding at the end the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(h)(1) The Secretary shall prepare—

7 ‘‘(A) a preliminary regulatory impact analysis,

8 which shall be transmitted along with any proposed

9 rule under section 6(b)(2), and

10 ‘‘(B) a final regulatory impact analysis, which

11 shall be transmitted along with a rule or determina12 tion issued under section 6(b)(4).

13 ‘‘(2) Each preliminary and final regulatory impact

14 analysis prepared under paragraph (1) shall contain the

15 following information:

16 ‘‘(A) A description of the potential benefits of

17 the standard, including any beneficial effects that

18 cannot be quantified in monetary terms and the

19 identification of those likely to receive the benefits.

20 ‘‘(B) An explanation of the necessity, legal au21 thority, and reasonableness of the standard and a

22 description of the hazard that the standard is to ad23 dress.

24 ‘‘(C) A description of the potential costs of the

25 standard, including any adverse effects that cannot
6

•HR 1834 IH

1 be quantified in monetary terms, and the identifica2 tion of those likely to bear the costs.

3 ‘‘(D) An analysis of any alternative approaches,

4 including market based mechanisms, that could sub5 stantially achieve the same regulatory goal at a

6 lower cost and an explanation of the reasons why

7 such alternative approaches were not adopted, to8 gether with a demonstration that the standard pro9 vides for the least costly approach.

10 ‘‘(E) A statement that the standard does not

11 conflict with, or duplicate, any other standard or re12 quirement, or the reasons why such a conflict or du13 plication exists.

14 ‘‘(F) A statement of whether persons will be re15 quired by the standard to maintain any records

16 which will be subject to inspection.

17 ‘‘(G) An estimate of the costs to the Secretary

18 for implementation and enforcement of the standard

19 and of whether the Secretary can be reasonably ex20 pected to implement the standard with the current

21 level of appropriations.’’.

22 (e) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Section 6 (29 U.S.C. 655),

23 as amended by subsection (d), is amended by adding at

24 the end the following:
7

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(i)(1) The principles to be applied in any assessment

2 of risks relied upon by the Secretary in promulgating or

3 modifying any standard are as follows:

4 ‘‘(A) When discussing risk to health or safety,

5 a risk assessment document shall contain a discus6 sion of both relevant laboratory and relevant epide7 miological data of sufficient quality which finds, or

8 fails to find, a correlation between risks to health or

9 safety and a potential toxin, condition, process, or

10 activity. Where conflicts among such data appear to

11 exist, or where animal data are used as a basis to

12 assess human health, the risk assessment document

13 shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, include

14 discussion of possible reconciliation of conflicting in15 formation, and as relevant, differences in study de16 signs, comparative physiology, routes of exposure,

17 bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, and any other rel18 evant factor, including the sufficiency of basic data

19 for review. Animal data shall be reviewed with re20 gard to its relevancy to humans.

21 ‘‘(B) Where a risk assessment document in22 volves selection of any significant assumption, infer23 ence, or model, the document shall, to the extent

24 feasible—
8

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(i) present a representative list and expla2 nation of plausible and alternative assumptions,

3 inferences, or models;

4 ‘‘(ii) explain the basis for any choices;

5 ‘‘(iii) identify any policy or value judg6 ments;

7 ‘‘(iv) fully describe any model used in the

8 risk assessment and make explicit the assump9 tions incorporated in the model; and

10 ‘‘(v) indicate the extent to which any sig11 nificant model has been validated by, or con12 flicts with, empirical data.

13 ‘‘(2) Any characterization of risk relied upon by the

14 Secretary in promulgating or modifying a standard shall,

15 to the extent feasible, provide—

16 ‘‘(A) the best estimate or estimates for the spe17 cific classes of workers which are the subject of the

18 characterization; and

19 ‘‘(B) a statement of the reasonable range of sci20 entific uncertainties.

21 In addition to such best estimate or estimates, the risk

22 characterization may present plausible upper-bound or

23 conservative estimates in conjunction with plausible lower

24 bounds estimates. Where appropriate, the risk character25 ization may present, in lieu of a single best estimate, mul-
9

•HR 1834 IH

1 tiple best estimates based on assumptions, inferences, or

2 models which are equally plausible, given current scientific

3 understanding.

4 ‘‘(3) Any characterization of risk relied upon by the

5 Secretary in promulgating or modifying a standard shall

6 explain the exposure scenarios used in any risk assess7 ment, and, to the extent feasible, provide a statement of

8 the size of the corresponding population at risk and the

9 likelihood of such exposure scenarios.

10 ‘‘(4) Any characterization of risk relied upon by the

11 Secretary in promulgating or modifying a standard shall

12 contain a statement that places the nature and magnitude

13 of risks to worker health or safety in context. Such state14 ment shall, to the extent feasible, provide comparisons

15 with estimates of greater, lesser, and substantially equiva16 lent risks that are familiar to and routinely encountered

17 by the general public as well as other risks, and, where

18 appropriate and meaningful, comparisons of those risks

19 with other similar risks regulated by the Secretary. Such

20 comparisons should consider relevant distinctions among

21 risks, such as the voluntary or involuntary nature of risks

22 and the preventability or nonpreventability of risks.

23 ‘‘(5) If—

24 ‘‘(A) a commenter provides the Secretary with

25 a relevant risk assessment document or a risk char-
10

•HR 1834 IH

1 acterization document, and a summary thereof, dur2 ing the public comment period provided under sec3 tion 6(b), and

4 ‘‘(B) the risk assessment document or risk

5 characterization document is consistent with the

6 principles and the guidance provided under this Act,

7 the Secretary shall, to the extent feasible, present

8 such summary in connection with the presentation

9 of the Secretary’s description of the risk to health

10 or safety of employees. Nothing in this paragraph

11 shall be construed to limit the inclusion of any com12 ments or material supplied by any person to the ad13 ministrative record. A document may satisfy the re14 quirements of paragraph (3) or (4) by reference to

15 information or material otherwise available to the

16 public if the document provides a brief summary of

17 such information or material.

18 ‘‘(j) Any recommendation or classification made by

19 a non-United States-based entity concerning the health ef20 fects value of a substance shall not be incorporated into

21 any standard without an opportunity for notice and com22 ment. For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘non23 United States-based entity’ means—

24 ‘‘(1) any foreign government and its agencies;
11

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the United Nations or any of its subsidiary

2 organizations;

3 ‘‘(3) any other international governmental body

4 or international standards-making organization; or

5 ‘‘(4) any other organization or private entity

6 without a place of business located in the United

7 States or its territories.’’.

8 (f) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—Section 6 (29 U.S.C.

9 655), as amended by subsection (e), is amended by adding

10 at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(k) Each identification of the costs and benefits of

12 a final or proposed standard shall include the following:

13 ‘‘(1) An identification of reasonable alternative

14 strategies, including strategies that—

15 ‘‘(A) require no government action;

16 ‘‘(B) will accommodate differences among

17 differing types of operations and among em18 ployers with different levels of resources with

19 which to comply; and

20 ‘‘(C) employ performance or other market21 based mechanisms that permit the greatest

22 flexibility in achieving the identified benefits of

23 the standard.

24 The Secretary shall consider reasonable alternative

25 strategies proposed during the comment period.
12

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(2) An analysis of the incremental costs and

2 incremental risk reduction or other benefits associ3 ated with each alternative strategy identified or con4 sidered by the Secretary. Costs and benefits shall be

5 quantified to the extent feasible and appropriate and

6 may otherwise be qualitatively described.

7 ‘‘(3) A statement that places in context the na8 ture and magnitude of the risks to be addressed and

9 the residual risks likely to remain for each alter10 native strategy identified or considered by the Sec11 retary. Such statement shall, to the extent feasible,

12 provide comparisons with estimates of greater, less13 er, and substantially equivalent risks that are famil14 iar to and routinely encountered by the general pub15 lic as well as other risks, and, where appropriate and

16 meaningful, comparisons of those risks with other

17 similar risks regulated by the Secretary. Such com18 parisons should consider relevant distinctions among

19 risks, such as the voluntary or involuntary nature of

20 risks and the preventability or nonpreventability of

21 risks.

22 ‘‘(4) For each final rule, an analysis of whether

23 the identified benefits of the standard are likely to

24 exceed the identified costs of the standard.

25 ‘‘(5) An analysis of the effect of the standard—
13

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(A) on small businesses with fewer than

2 100 employees;

3 ‘‘(B) on net employment; and

4 ‘‘(C) to the extent practicable, on the cu5 mulative financial burden of compliance with

6 the standard and other existing regulations on

7 persons subject to the standard.’’.

8 (g) PROCESS FOR REVIEW OF EXISTING OSHA

9 STANDARDS.—Section 6 (29 U.S.C. 655), as amended in

10 subsection (f), is amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(l)(1) The Secretary shall, within 7 years of the ef13 fective date of the Safety and Health Improvement and

14 Regulatory Reform Act of 1995, review each standard in

15 effect as of the effective date of such Act under the criteria

16 established under subsection (b)(1) and modify or revoke

17 such standards as appropriate.

18 ‘‘(2) Any person affected by a standard that has been

19 promulgated under this section may petition the Secretary

20 to modify or revoke the standard pursuant to this sub21 section.

22 ‘‘(3) Each petition submitted under this subsection

23 shall include information or documentation that is ade24 quate to—
14

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(A) identify the standard or portion thereof

2 that is sought to be modified or revoked and de3 scribe the change that is sought in the standard; and

4 ‘‘(B) make a prima facie showing that—

5 ‘‘(i) the standard is likely to continue hav6 ing a significant impact on the industry or in7 dustries with respect to which the modification

8 or revocation is sought, and

9 ‘‘(ii) the modification or revocation is nec10 essary in order for the risk reduction or other

11 benefits of the standard to justify and be rea12 sonably related to the costs of the standard in

13 the industry or industries with respect to which

14 the modification or revocation is sought.

15 ‘‘(4)(A) Within 120 days of receiving a petition sub16 mitted under this subsection, the Secretary shall review

17 the petition and determine whether to accept or reject it.

18 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall reject a petition submitted

19 under this subsection if it does not include adequate infor20 mation and documentation as specified in paragraph (2).

21 If the Secretary determines to reject the petition, the Sec22 retary, within 30 days of making that determination, shall

23 publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing the

24 determination to reject the petition and explaining the

25 basis for that determination.
15

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall accept a petition submitted

2 under this subsection if it includes adequate information

3 and documentation as specified in paragraph (2). Within

4 120 days of accepting any such petition, the Secretary

5 shall prepare a cost-benefit analysis of the existing stand6 ard and of the change that is sought in the standard.

7 ‘‘(D) If, on the basis of the analysis prepared pursu8 ant to subparagraph (C), the Secretary determines that

9 the incremental benefits of a standard, or any part of a

10 standard, do not justify the costs with respect to an indus11 try or industries, the Secretary shall publish a notice in

12 the Federal Register, initiating a rulemaking to modify or

13 revoke the standard. Final action taken in that rule14 making shall be subject to judicial review in accordance

15 with subsection (f) of this section.

16 ‘‘(E) If, on the basis of the information and docu17 mentation submitted by the petitioner and the analysis

18 prepared pursuant to subparagraph (C), the Secretary de19 termines that the standard should not be changed, the

20 Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register,

21 announcing the determination not to change the standard

22 and explaining the basis for that determination.

23 ‘‘(5) The Secretary’s determination to reject a peti24 tion under paragraph (4)(B) or a determination not to

25 change the standard under paragraph (4)(E) shall con-
16

•HR 1834 IH

1 stitute a final agency action subject to judicial review at

2 the request of a person who submitted the petition under

3 paragraph (1). Any such person may challenge the Sec4 retary’s determination to reject the petition or a deter5 mination not to change the standard, by filing a petition

6 for review in any court that would have jurisdiction and

7 be proper venue for the filing of a petition to review the

8 standard itself. Any such petition shall be filed within 60

9 days of the date on which notice of the Secretary’s deter10 mination under paragraph (4)(B) or (4)(E) is published

11 in the Federal Register.

12 ‘‘(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to

13 prohibit a person from petitioning the Secretary to pro14 mulgate, modify, or revoke a standard pursuant to any

15 other provision of law.’’.

16 (h) INDEPENDENT AND EXTERNAL PEER REVIEW

17 PANEL.—Section 6(g) (29 U.S.C. 655(g)) is amended to

18 read as follows:

19 ‘‘(g) Whenever the Secretary determines that a rule

20 should be promulgated or modified in order to serve the

21 objectives of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint a panel

22 of individuals to review the scientific and economic data

23 which forms the basis for such standard and the relevance

24 of the data to industries and workers which would be af25 fected by the standard. Such panel shall be broadly rep-
17

•HR 1834 IH

1 resentative and balanced, and shall include persons with

2 expertise in scientific and economic analysis and persons

3 with expertise relevant to the industry or industries which

4 would be subject to the standard. Persons with substantial

5 and relevant expertise shall not be excluded merely be6 cause they represent entities that may have potential in7 terest in the outcome if that interest is fully disclosed to

8 the agency and in the case of a decision affecting a single

9 entity, no peer reviewer representing such entity may be

10 included on the panel. Reports of the panel, including any

11 individual and minority reports, shall be published to12 gether with any proposed or final rule under paragraphs

13 (2) and (4) of subsection (b) on the standard. The Sec14 retary shall provide a written response to all significant

15 comments of the panel and shall include such responses

16 with the proposed or final rule to which the reports of

17 the panel members are attached.’’.

18 SEC. 3. NOTICE OF VIOLATION.

19 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 9 (29 U.S.C. 658) is

20 amended—

21 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as

22 subsections (c) and (d), respectively;

23 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

24 following:
18

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), if, upon

2 inspection or investigation, the Secretary or the Sec3 retary’s authorized representative believes that an em4 ployer or an employee has violated a requirement of sec5 tion 5, of any standard, rule or order prescribed pursuant

6 to section 6, or of any regulations prescribed pursuant to

7 this Act, the Secretary shall with reasonable promptness

8 so notify the employer. Each such notice shall be in writ9 ing and shall describe with particularity the nature of the

10 violation and the recommendations for abatement. In addi11 tion, the notice shall fix a reasonable time for abatement

12 of the alleged violation. Such time for abatement shall be

13 not less than 30 days, except that a shorter period may

14 be allowed if the condition constitutes a direct threat to

15 employees and a shorter period is reasonable under all of

16 the circumstances.

17 ‘‘(b) If upon a follow up inspection the Secretary be18 lieves that a violation of a standard, rule, or order pre19 scribed under section 6, or a violation of any regulation

20 prescribed pursuant to this Act, previously identified in

21 a notice as provided in subsection (a), remains and the

22 time provided for its abatement has expired, the Secretary

23 may issue a citation to the employer. Each citation shall

24 be in writing and shall describe with particularity the na25 ture of the violation, including a reference to the provision
19

•HR 1834 IH

1 of the Act, standard, rule, regulation, or order alleged to

2 have been violated. Notwithstanding the issuance of a no3 tice under subsection (a), the Secretary shall not issue a

4 citation with respect to de minimis violations which have

5 no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health.

6 A violation of any requirement for posting, recordkeeping,

7 reporting, notification, or compiling or maintaining writ8 ten documents or records shall be considered a de minimis

9 violation unless the Secretary establishes that such viola10 tion has a direct relationship to the safety or health of

11 employees or reflects an intent to mislead or deceive the

12 Secretary or any employee.’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(e) The notice required in subsection (a) before issu15 ance of a citation shall not be required in the case of any

16 alleged violation causing death or serious injury to an em17 ployee or which constitutes an imminent danger to an em18 ployee.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sections 10(a),

20 10(c), and 17(d) (29 U.S.C. 659(a), 659(c), 666(d)) are

21 each amended by striking ‘‘9(a)’’ each place it occurs and

22 inserting ‘‘9(b)’’.
20

•HR 1834 IH

1 SEC. 4. CONSULTATION, INCENTIVES FOR VOLUNTARY AC2 TION, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

3 The Act is amended by inserting after section 8 the

4 following:

5 ‘‘WORKSITE-BASED INCENTIVES

6 ‘‘SEC. 8A. (a) The Secretary shall establish an office

7 to promote, administer, and coordinate the programs and

8 activities described in this section.

9 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in this paragraph, the

10 Secretary shall not conduct an inspection or investigation

11 of any place of employment for which certification has

12 been provided in accordance with paragraph (2) or (4).

13 Such prohibition does not apply to inspections and inves14 tigation conducted for the purpose of—

15 ‘‘(A) determining the cause of a workplace acci16 dent which resulted in the death of one or more em17 ployees or the hospitalization of 3 or more employ18 ees,

19 ‘‘(B) responding to an inspection request under

20 section 8(f), or

21 ‘‘(C) conducting an inspection as required

22 under section 9(c)(1).

23 ‘‘(2) In order to qualify for the exemption provided

24 under paragraph (1), an employer shall certify that the

25 place of employment or conditions of employment have,

26 during the preceding year, been reviewed under—
21

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(A) a consultation program provided by recipi2 ents of cooperative agreements described in sub3 section (d), or

4 ‘‘(B) a workplace review provided by any person

5 certified under paragraph (3).

6 Such review shall include a determination that any serious

7 hazards identified in the workplace have been corrected

8 and that the employer has in place an effective means of

9 addressing serious workplace hazards.

10 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall, within 6 months after the

11 date of the enactment of the Safety and Health Improve12 ment and Regulatory Reform Act of 1995 establish a pro13 gram for the certification of persons to conduct reviews

14 under this section. The certification program shall pro15 vide—

16 ‘‘(A) that persons may be certified generally or

17 as to specific industries, and that the certification

18 may be for health, safety, or both;

19 ‘‘(B) uniform minimum standards for certifi20 cation; and

21 ‘‘(C) acceptance, where appropriate, of certifi22 cations made by—

23 ‘‘(i) any generally recognized training insti24 tution if the course of study of the institution
22

•HR 1834 IH

1 meets the criteria that the Secretary shall pre2 scribe, or

3 ‘‘(ii) any generally recognized certifying en4 tity.

5 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may certify for exemption under

6 paragraph (1) workplaces which have significant involve7 ment of employees in their safety and health program,

8 which involvement includes—

9 ‘‘(A) regular consultation between employer and

10 non-supervisory employees regarding safety and

11 health issues;

12 ‘‘(B) assurances that participating non-super13 visory employees have training or expertise on safety

14 and health issues consistent with their responsibil15 ities; and

16 ‘‘(C) opportunity for non-supervisory employees

17 to make recommendations regarding hazards in the

18 workplace and to receive responses or to implement

19 improvements in response to recommendations.

20 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary shall establish a program to

21 give special recognition to worksites and companies and

22 other organizations which have implemented particularly

23 effective programs addressing occupational safety and

24 health in the workplace. Such recognition shall include ex-
23

•HR 1834 IH

1 emption from inspections except those described in sub2 section (b)(1).

3 ‘‘(2) An organization or company may qualify for rec4 ognition under paragraph (1) only if it—

5 ‘‘(A) applies to the Secretary in writing, for the

6 recognition,

7 ‘‘(B) permits an evaluation by the Secretary of

8 its occupational safety and health operations, and

9 ‘‘(C) meets such requirements and specifica10 tions as the Secretary determines to be appropriate

11 to achieve the objectives of this subsection.

12 In applying subparagraph (C) with respect to any organi13 zation or company, the Secretary shall rely upon the Sec14 retary’s evaluation of the occupational safety and health

15 operation of the organization or company. The evaluation

16 should encompass all aspects of the organization’s or com17 pany’s current occupational safety and health practice.

18 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that all organizations

19 and companies making an application under section 2(A)

20 receive the complete results of their evaluations as well

21 as detailed explanations of all suggestions for improve22 ments. The Secretary shall also provide information about

23 the recognitions and the successful quality improvement

24 programs of the recognition-winning participants to all or25 ganizations and companies.
24

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary is authorized to seek and accept

2 gifts, including in-kind assistance, from public and private

3 sources to carry out this subsection.

4 ‘‘(d) This subsection authorizes the consultative serv5 ices to employers provided under cooperative agreements

6 between the States and the Occupational Safety and

7 Health Administration and described in part 1908 of title

8 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the

9 date of the enactment of the Safety and Health Improve10 ment and Regulatory Reform Act of 1995.

11 ‘‘(e) In addition to the other programs in this section,

12 the Secretary shall establish programs to provide edu13 cation, training, and technical assistance to employers and

14 employees to assist them in the provision of safe and

15 healthful workplaces and compliance with the require16 ments of this Act. The Secretary may also conduct,

17 through grants or contracts, education programs to pro18 vide an adequate supply of qualified personnel to carry

19 out the purpose of this Act.

20 ‘‘(f) Effective in the first fiscal year that begins 3

21 years after the effective date of the Safety and Health Im22 provement and Regulatory Reform Act of 1995, not less

23 than one-half of the annual appropriation made to the

24 Secretary to carry out this Act shall be expended to carry

25 out this section.’’.
25

•HR 1834 IH

1 SEC. 5. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO VOLUNTARY SAFETY

2 AND HEALTH ACTIVITIES.

3 Section 4 (29 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at

4 the end the following:

5 ‘‘(c) In order to carry out the purposes of this Act

6 to encourage employer and employees in their efforts to

7 reduce the number of occupational safety and health haz8 ards—

9 ‘‘(1) employee participation, including through

10 committees, teams, or any other arrangement—

11 ‘‘(A) which exists for the purpose, in whole

12 or in part, of dealing with the employer con13 cerning the safety or health of working condi14 tions or related matters, and

15 ‘‘(B) which does not have, claim, or seek

16 authority to be the exclusive bargaining rep17 resentative of the employees or to negotiate or

18 enter into collective bargaining agreements with

19 the employer or to amend existing collective

20 bargaining agreements between the employer

21 and any labor organization,

22 shall not constitute a ‘labor organization’ for pur23 poses of section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Rela24 tions Act or a representative for purposes of sections

25 1 and 2 of the Railway Labor Act, and
26

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(2) records, reports, or other information pre2 pared in connection with safety and health inspec3 tions, audits, or reviews conducted by or for an em4 ployer and not required by this Act shall not be dis5 closed in any inspection, investigation, or enforce6 ment proceeding pursuant to this Act.’’.

7 SEC. 6. INSPECTIONS.

8 (a) EMPLOYEE-EMPLOYER COOPERATION.—Section

9 8(f)(1) (29 U.S.C. 657(f)(1)) is amended to read as fol10 lows:

11 ‘‘(f)(1) Any employee who believes that a violation of

12 a safety or health standard exists that threatens physical

13 harm, or that an imminent danger exists, may, if the em14 ployee has brought the violation or danger to the attention

15 of the employer and the employer has failed or refused

16 to correct the violation or danger, request an inspection

17 by giving notice to the Secretary or the Secretary’s author18 ized representative of such violation or danger. Any such

19 notice shall set forth with reasonable particularity the

20 grounds for the notice, including a description of the ef21 forts which the employee has made with the employer to

22 have the violation or danger corrected, and a copy shall

23 be provided to the employer no later than at the time of

24 inspection. If upon receipt of such notification the Sec25 retary determines that there are reasonable grounds to be-
27

•HR 1834 IH

1 lieve that such violation or danger exists and that the em2 ployer has failed to correct the violation or danger, the

3 Secretary shall make an inquiry with the employer and

4 may make a special inspection in accordance with the pro5 visions of this section to determine if such violation or

6 danger exists. Any such inspection shall be conducted for

7 the limited purpose of determining whether such violation

8 or danger exists. If the Secretary determines there are no

9 reasonable grounds to believe a violation or danger exists,

10 the Secretary shall notify the employees in writing of such

11 determination.’’.

12 (b) INSPECTION TRAINING AND FIRE PROTEC13 TION.—Section 8 is amended by redesignating subsection

14 (g) as subsection (j) and by inserting after subsection (f)

15 the following:

16 ‘‘(g) Inspections conducted under this section shall

17 be conducted by at least one individual who has technical

18 expertise by training or experience in the industry or types

19 of hazards being inspected.

20 ‘‘(h) The Secretary shall enter into agreements with

21 other Federal agencies and with States to train inspection

22 personnel of agencies which conduct inspections of employ23 ers to inspect places of employment to determine if em24 ployee fire protection is adequate and shall establish a sys25 tem for referral of fire hazards to the Secretary after noti-
28

•HR 1834 IH

1 fication to the employer, if the employer fails to take cor2 rective actions.’’.

3 (c) SMALL BUSINESS INSPECTIONS.—Section 8, as

4 amended by subsection (b), is further amended by adding

5 at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(i)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Sec7 retary shall not conduct routine inspections of, or enforce

8 any standard, rule, regulation, or order under this Act

9 with respect to—

10 ‘‘(A) any person who is engaged in a farming

11 operation which does not maintain a temporary

12 labor camp and is employing 10 or fewer employees,

13 or

14 ‘‘(B) any employer of not more than 50 employ15 ees if such employer is included within a category of

16 employers having an occupational injury or a lost

17 work day case rate (determined under the Standard

18 Industrial Classification Code for which such rates

19 are published) which is less than the national aver20 age rate as most recently published by the Secretary

21 acting through the Bureau of Labor Statistics under

22 section 25.

23 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall, in the case of persons who

24 are not engaged in farming operations, not prevent the

25 Secretary from—
29

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(A) providing under this Act consultations,

2 technical assistance, and educational and training

3 services and conducting under this Act surveys and

4 studies;

5 ‘‘(B) conducting inspections required under sec6 tion 28(a) or conducting inspections or investiga7 tions in response to employee’s complaints as pro8 vided in section 8(f), issuing warnings for violations

9 of this Act found during such an inspection, and is10 suing citations and assessing a penalty for violations

11 which are not corrected within a reasonable abate12 ment period consistent with subsections (a) and (b)

13 of section 9;

14 ‘‘(C) taking any action authorized by this Act

15 with respect to imminent dangers;

16 ‘‘(D) taking any action authorized by this Act

17 with respect to health standards;

18 ‘‘(E) taking any action authorized by this Act

19 with respect to a report of an employment accident

20 which is fatal to at least one employee or which re21 sults in hospitalization of at least 3 employees and

22 taking any action pursuant to an investigation of

23 such report; and

24 ‘‘(F) taking any action authorized by this Act

25 with respect to complaints of discrimination against
30

•HR 1834 IH

1 employees for exercising their rights under this

2 Act.’’.

3 SEC. 7. EMPLOYER DEFENSES.

4 Section 9 (29 U.S.C. 658), as amended by section

5 3, is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(f) No citation with respect to an alleged violation

7 may be issued under subsection (b) to an employer unless

8 the employer knew or with the exercise of reasonable dili9 gence would have known of the presence of such alleged

10 violation. No citation shall be issued under subsection (b)

11 to an employer for an alleged violation of any standard,

12 rule, or order promulgated pursuant to section 6, or any

13 other regulation promulgated under this Act if such em14 ployer demonstrates that—

15 ‘‘(1) employees of such employer have been pro16 vided with any training and equipment required by

17 the standard or rule at issue;

18 ‘‘(2) work rules designed to prevent such a vio19 lation have been established and communicated to

20 employees by such employer and the employer has

21 taken reasonable measures to implement such work

22 rules and to discipline employees when violations of

23 such work rules have been discovered; and

24 ‘‘(3) the failure of employees to observe work

25 rules led to the violation.
31

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(g) A citation issued under subsection (b) to an em2 ployer who violates the requirements of any standard, rule,

3 or order promulgated pursuant to section 6 or any other

4 regulation promulgated under this Act shall be vacated if

5 such employer demonstrates that employees of such em6 ployer were protected by alternative methods substantially

7 equal or more protective of the employee’s safety and

8 health than those required by such standard, rule, order,

9 or regulation in the factual circumstances underlying the

10 citation.

11 ‘‘(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

12 compliance with a requirement under this Act or any other

13 Federal regulatory requirement designed to protect human

14 health or safety shall be a defense against a citation or

15 any civil or administrative action for a violation of a re16 quirement under this or any other law, where the require17 ments under the 2 laws are potentially in conflict. For

18 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘potentially in con19 flict’ means a requirement that overlaps with, is inconsist20 ent with, or conflicts with, a requirement under this Act,

21 and includes labeling requirements for the same product

22 and training requirements that are related to the same

23 hazard.
32

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(i) Subsections (f), (g), and (h) shall not be con2 strued to eliminate or modify other defenses which may

3 exist to any citation.’’.

4 SEC. 8. PENALTIES.

5 (a) ELIMINATION OF ‘‘WILLFUL AND REPEATED’’

6 AUTHORITY.—Section 17 (29 U.S.C. 666) is amended by

7 striking subsection (a) (relating to willful and repeated

8 violations), by redesignating subsection (k) (relating to the

9 definition of serious violations) as subsection (a), and by

10 redesignating subsection (l) as subsection (k).

11 (b) CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING PENALTIES.—Section

12 17(j) (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(j) The Commission shall have authority to assess

14 all civil penalties provided in this section, giving due con15 sideration to the appropriateness of the penalty with re16 spect to—

17 ‘‘(1) the size of the employer,

18 ‘‘(2) the number of employees exposed to the

19 violation,

20 ‘‘(3) the likely severity of any injuries directly

21 resulting from such violation,

22 ‘‘(4) the probability that the violation could re23 sult in injury or illness,

24 ‘‘(5) the employer’s good faith, including cor25 recting the violation after it has been identified,
33

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(6) the extent to which employee misconduct

2 was responsible for the violation, and

3 ‘‘(7) the effect of the penalty on the employer’s

4 ability to stay in business.

5 The Commission shall not assess a penalty greater than

6 that proposed by the Secretary. A civil penalty assessed

7 under this section may be reduced by the cost to the em8 ployer of correcting the violation to which the penalty ap9 plies.’’.

10 (c) SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS.—Section 17 (29 U.S.C.

11 666), as amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding

12 at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(l) The Secretary may propose that a special assess14 ment be applied in the following circumstances:

15 ‘‘(1) Fatalities of employees caused by viola16 tions of standards issued under section 6.

17 ‘‘(2) An excessive history of serious injuries to

18 employees caused by violations of standards issued

19 under section 6.

20 When the Secretary determines that a special assessment

21 is appropriate, the Secretary may propose a multiplier,

22 based on the factors listed in subsection (j), of not greater

23 than 10 to the penalty determined under subsection (b).’’.

24 (d) NO PENALTIES WHERE NO STANDARD OR REGU25 LATION EXISTS.—Section 17 (29 U.S.C. 666) is amended
34

•HR 1834 IH

1 by striking out ‘‘of the requirements of section 5 of this

2 Act,’’ each place it appears.

3 (e) JURISDICTION FOR PROSECUTION UNDER STATE

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

5 666), as amended by subsection (c), is amended by adding

6 at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(m) Nothing in this Act shall preclude State and

8 local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal

9 prosecutions in accordance with the laws of such State or

10 locality.’’.

11 SEC. 9. REVIEW BY THE COMMISSION.

12 (a) COMMISSION ACTION.—Section 10(c) (29 U.S.C.

13 6559(c)) is amended as follows:

14 (1) In the first sentence, by striking out ‘‘fif15 teen’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘30’’.

16 (2) By amending the second and third sen17 tences to read as follows: ‘‘The Commission shall

18 thereafter issue an order, based on its de novo find19 ings of fact and its de novo conclusions of law, af20 firming, modifying, or vacating the Secretary’s cita21 tion or proposed penalty, or directing other appro22 priate relief, and such order shall become final 30

23 days after first issuance. Upon a showing by an em24 ployer of a good faith effort to comply with the

25 abatement requirements of a citation, and that the
35

•HR 1834 IH

1 abatement has not been completed because of factors

2 beyond the employer’s reasonable control, the Com3 mission, after an opportunity for a hearing as pro4 vided in this subsection, shall issue an order affirm5 ing or modifying the abatement requirements in

6 such citation.’’.

7 (b) UPHOLDING COMMISSION’S CONCLUSIONS.—Sec8 tion 11(a) (29 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by adding the

9 following sentence immediately after the sixth sentence:

10 ‘‘The Commission’s conclusions of law with respect to the

11 construction of this Act, or regulations, rules, standards

12 or orders adopted under this Act, shall be upheld if rea13 sonable.’’.

14 (c) NUMBERS.—(1) Section 12(a) (29 U.S.C. 661(a))

15 is amended by striking out ‘‘three members’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘5 members’’ and by inserting after the second sentence:

17 ‘‘At least one member of the Commission shall have expe18 rience or expertise in mining.’’.

19 (2) Section 12(f) (29 U.S.C. 661(f)) is amended by

20 striking out ‘‘two’’ and inserting ‘‘3’’.

21 (d) AMENDMENT.—Section 12(g) (29 U.S.C. 661(g))

22 is amended by adding at the end the following new sen23 tence: ‘‘If the parties so agree, no formal proceedings, in24 cluding requests for the production of documents, requests
36

•HR 1834 IH

1 for admissions, interrogatories, or depositions shall be re2 quired.’’.

3 SEC. 10. NIOSH REPEALED.

4 The Act is amended by repealing sections 20, 21, and

5 22 (29 U.S.C. 669, 670, 671).

6 SEC. 11. STATE WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION COMMISSION

7 REPEALED.

8 The Act is amended by repealing section 27 (29

9 U.S.C. 676).

10 SEC. 12. STATE PROGRAMS.

11 Section 18(c) (29 U.S.C. 667(c)) is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking out ‘‘are re13 quired by compelling local conditions and do not un14 duly burden interstate commerce’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘are substantively the same as any requirement

16 under a standard promulgated under section 6,’’;

17 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the

18 comma at the end the following: ‘‘and provides

19 means for informal resolution and adjudication of

20 contested citations’’; and

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

22 ‘‘Paragraphs (4) and (5) shall not apply if the State has

23 adopted alternative performance measures to assure that

24 its program is at least as effective as the Federal program
37

•HR 1834 IH

1 in assuring safe and healthful employment and places of

2 employment.’’.

3 SEC. 13. DISCRIMINATION.

4 Section 11(c) (29 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by strik5 ing out paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting in lieu there6 of the following:

7 ‘‘(2) Any employee who believes that the employee

8 has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against by

9 any person in violation of paragraph (1) or who believes

10 that the employee has been discharged or discriminated

11 against because of an action taken by the employee under

12 section 8(f), may, within 60 days after such violation oc13 curs, file a complaint with the Secretary alleging such dis14 crimination. Upon receipt of such a complaint the Sec15 retary shall notify the person named in the complaint and

16 begin an investigation to determine if the Secretary

17 should, on behalf of such employee, request the Commis18 sion to take action on the basis of such complaint. The

19 Secretary shall make such determination within 60 days

20 of the filing of such complaint.

21 ‘‘(3) If within such 60 days, the Secretary does not

22 file a complaint on behalf of the complainant with the

23 Commission, such employee may file such complaint with

24 the Commission. If such a complaint is filed with the Com25 mission of if the Secretary files a complaint, the Commis-
38

•HR 1834 IH

1 sion shall provide opportunity for a hearing (in accordance

2 with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, but with3 out regard to subsection (a)(3) of such section), and issue

4 an order, based upon findings of fact and conclusions of

5 law. In such an order, the Commission may order such

6 equitable relief as may be appropriate, including rehiring

7 or reinstatement of the employee to the employee’s former

8 position with back pay and interest. Upon completion of

9 a proceeding on such order, the Commission may award

10 the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee. Final or11 ders of the Commission may be appealed as provided in

12 subsection (a).

13 ‘‘(4) Anytime after a complaint has been filed with

14 the Secretary alleging a violation of paragraph (1), the

15 complaining employee, the person charged with commit16 ting the violation, or the Secretary have the right to re17 quest that the complaint be referred to the Federal Medi18 ation and Conciliation Service, or on mutual agreement,

19 another mediator, for mediation of the dispute.’’.

20 SEC. 14. COVERAGE OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

21 Section 3(5) (29 U.S.C. 652(5)) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘but does not include the United

23 States or any’’ and inserting ‘‘but does not include

24 any’’; and
39

•HR 1834 IH

1 (2) by adding at the end: ‘‘Such term includes

2 the Government of the United States and any agen3 cy or instrumentality of the Government.’’.

4 SEC. 15. FEDERAL AGENCY SAFETY PROGRAMS.

5 The Act is amended by repealing section 19 (29

6 U.S.C. 668).

7 SEC. 16. PREVENTION OF ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE

8 ABUSE.

9 The Act is amended by repealing sections 28 through

10 31, by redesignating sections 32, 33, and 34 as sections

11 29, 30, and 33, respectively, and by inserting after section

12 26 (29 U.S.C. 676) the following:

13 ‘‘ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE TESTING

14 ‘‘SEC. 27. (a) Whenever there exists the reasonable

15 probability that the safety or health of any employee could

16 be endangered in the workplace because of the use of alco17 hol or a controlled substance by any employee, the em18 ployer of such employee may establish and implement an

19 alcohol and substance abuse testing program in accord20 ance with subsection (b). Nothing in this section shall be

21 construed to require an employer to establish a substance

22 abuse or drug testing program for applicants or employees

23 or make employment decisions based on such test results.

24 ‘‘(b)(1) The substance abuse testing program shall

25 conform to subpart B of the mandatory guidelines for

26 Federal workplace drug testing programs published on
40

•HR 1834 IH

1 April 11, 1988, by the Secretary of Health and Human

2 Services at 53 Federal Register 11979 and any amend3 ments adopted to such guidelines.

4 ‘‘(2) The alcohol testing program shall take the form

5 of alcohol breath analysis and shall conform to any guide6 lines developed by the Secretary of Transportation for al7 cohol testing of mass transit employees under the Depart8 ment of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropria9 tions Act, 1992.

10 ‘‘(c) This section shall not be construed to prohibit

11 an employer from requiring an employee to submit to and

12 pass an alcohol or substance abuse test before employment

13 by the employer or—

14 ‘‘(1) on a for cause basis or where the employer

15 has reasonable suspicion to believe that such em16 ployee is using or is under the influence of alcohol

17 or a controlled substance,

18 ‘‘(2) where such test is administered as part of

19 a scheduled medical examination,

20 ‘‘(3) in the case of an accident or incident in21 volving the actual or potential loss of human life,

22 bodily injury, or property damage,

23 ‘‘(4) during and for a reasonable period of time

24 (not to exceed 5 years) after the conclusion of an al25 cohol or substance abuse treatment program, or
41

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(5) on a random selection basis in work units,

2 locations, or facilities where alcohol and substance

3 abuse has been identified as a problem or as part of

4 a universal testing program.

5 ‘‘(d) The Secretary is authorized to conduct testing

6 of employees for use of alcohol or controlled substances

7 during any investigation of a work-related fatality or seri8 ous injury.’’.

9 SEC. 17. MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH.

10 (a) REORGANIZATION.—Titles I, II, III, and V of the

11 Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 are repealed,

12 except as provided in this section. Subject to the provisions

13 of this Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act

14 of 1970, the functions and authorities provided to the

15 Mine Safety and Health Administration under such provi16 sions are transferred to the Assistant Secretary of Labor

17 for Occupational Safety and Health, and the responsibil18 ities and authorities of the Federal Mine Safety and

19 Health Review Commission are transferred to Occupa20 tional Safety and Health Review Commission.

21 (b) STANDARDS.—Standards promulgated under the

22 Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 shall be

23 deemed to have been promulgated under the Occupational

24 Safety and Health Act of 1970. The Secretary shall not,

25 with respect to activities, conditions, or processes which
42

•HR 1834 IH

1 were subject to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act

2 of 1977, enforce any other standards promulgated prior

3 to the effective date of this Act. The following parts of

4 title 30, Code of Federal Regulations, are repealed effec5 tive 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act:

6 (1) Subchapter A, part 1.

7 (2) Subchapter G, parts 40, 43, 45.

8 (3) Subchapter M, part 50.

9 (4) Subchapter P, part 100.

10 (5) Subchapter Q, part 104.

11 The requirements of subchapter H, part 48, shall not be

12 enforced with respect to shell dredging or with respect to

13 any sand, gravel, surface stone, surface clay, colloidal

14 phosphate, or surface limestone mine.

15 (c) MINE SAFETY.—The Act, as amended by section

16 14, is amended by inserting after section 27 the following:

17 ‘‘MINE SAFETY

18 ‘‘SEC. 28. (a) Each underground mine shall be in19 spected at least annually.

20 ‘‘(b) Inspectors of mines shall be qualified by prac21 tical experience in mining, by experience as a mining engi22 neer or by education. To the maximum extent feasible, in

23 the selection of persons for appointment as mine inspec24 tors, no person shall be so selected unless the person has

25 the basic qualification of at least 5 years practical mining

26 experience.
43

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(c)(1) If upon inspection or investigation of a mine,

2 the Secretary or the Secretary’s authorized representative

3 finds an imminent danger exists, the Secretary or the Sec4 retary’s representative shall issue an order requiring the

5 employer to withdraw all persons from the affected area

6 and not permit re-entry into the area until the imminent

7 danger has been eliminated or all persons have been pro8 tected from exposure to the imminent danger.

9 ‘‘(2) The following persons shall not be required to

10 be withdrawn from or prohibited from entering any area

11 of an employment site subject to an order issued under

12 this subsection:

13 ‘‘(A) Any person whose presence, in the judg14 ment of the employer or an authorized representa15 tive of the Secretary, is necessary to evaluate or

16 eliminate the condition described in the order.

17 ‘‘(B) Any consultants to such persons.

18 ‘‘(3) Any employer who is issued an order pursuant

19 to this subsection may seek immediate review of such

20 order in the United States District Court for the District

21 of Columbia or for the District in which the employment

22 site is located. Such review shall be available to the em23 ployer within one day following the issuance of the order.

24 The burden shall be on the Secretary to prove the immi25 nent danger and that the danger justifies the issuance of
44

•HR 1834 IH

1 the order under paragraph (1). In the case of proceeding

2 to review any order issued pursuant to this subsection, the

3 court may, under such conditions as it may prescribe,

4 grant such temporary relief as it deems appropriate pend5 ing final determination of the proceedings if—

6 ‘‘(A) all parties to the proceeding have been no7 tified and given an opportunity to be heard in per8 son, by telephone or in writing on the request for

9 temporary relief;

10 ‘‘(B) the party requesting such relief shows that

11 there is substantial likelihood that that party will

12 prevail on the merits of the final determination of

13 the proceeding; and

14 ‘‘(C) such relief will not cause a serious hazard

15 to employees.

16 ‘‘(4) Any operator who knowingly violates or fails or

17 refuses to comply with any order issued under this sub18 section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of

19 not more than $25,000, or by imprisonment for not more

20 than one year, or by both, except that if the conviction

21 is for a violation committed after the first conviction of

22 such operator under this Act, punishment shall be fined

23 of not more than $50,000, or by imprisonment for not

24 more than five years, or both.
45

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(5) The term ‘‘imminent danger’’ means the exist2 ence of any condition or practice in a workplace as de3 scribed in section 13.

4 ‘‘(d) Any miner who willfully violates the mandatory

5 safety standards relating to smoking or carrying of smok6 ing materials, matches, or lighters shall be subject to a

7 civil penalty assessed by the Commission which penalty

8 shall not be more than $250 for each occurrence.’’.

9 (d) NATIONAL MINE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACAD10 EMY.—The National Mine Health and Safety Academy

11 shall be maintained as an agency of the Department of

12 Labor. The Academy shall be responsible for the training

13 of mine safety and health inspectors and in training of

14 technical support personnel, and for any other training

15 programs for mine inspectors, mining personnel, or other

16 personnel as the Secretary of Labor shall designate, in ac17 cordance with procedures and authorities as in effect be18 fore the date of the enactment of this Act.

19 SEC. 18. RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING.

20 (a) RECORDS.—Section 8(c)(2) (29 U.S.C. 657) is

21 amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations requir23 ing employers to maintain accurate records of work-relat24 ed deaths and work-related injuries and illnesses that re25 quire medical treatment, other than first aid treatment,
46

•HR 1834 IH

1 and involve one or more lost workdays or 5 or more days

2 of restriction of work. The Secretary may require such

3 records or reports of such records or summaries thereof

4 be submitted to the Secretary, provided however, that any

5 such records and reports which may be submitted to or

6 obtained by the Secretary shall not be released or disclosed

7 by the Secretary in any manner which identifies individual

8 employers or workplaces.

9 (b) STATISTICS.—The last sentence of section 24(a)

10 (29 U.S.C. 673) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘The Sec11 retary shall compile accurate statistics on work-related

12 deaths and work-related injuries and illnesses that require

13 medical treatment, other than first aid treatment, and in14 volved one or more lost workdays or 5 or more days of

15 restriction of work.’’.

16 SEC. 19. DEFINITIONS.

17 Section 3 (29 U.S.C. 652) is amended by adding at

18 the end thereof the following:

19 ‘‘(15) The term ‘serious injury’ means an injury

20 that results in one or more days away from work

21 and protracted loss or impairment of the function of

22 a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty or, in the

23 case of exposure to toxic materials, requires medical

24 treatment other than first aid.
47

•HR 1834 IH

1 ‘‘(16) The term ‘industry’ means the 4 digit

2 classification as defined in the Standard Industrial

3 Classification Manual prepared by the Office of

4 Management and Budget, unless the Occupational

5 Safety and Health Administration finds that a

6 broader classification adequately represents the cir7 cumstances of the constituent industries affected.’’.

8 SEC. 20. MISCELLANEOUS TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

9 (a) ANNUAL REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Section

10 4(b)(3) (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(3)) is amended to read as fol11 lows:

12 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall annually report to the Con13 gress regarding activities under this Act, including rec14 ommendations for legislation to avoid unnecessary dupli15 cation and to achieve coordination between this Act and

16 other Federal laws.’’.

17 (b) CERTIFICATION OF EQUIPMENT.—Section 7 is

18 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

19 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION OF EQUIPMENT.—The Sec20 retary shall provide for a means for certification of equip21 ment for which such certification is required pursuant to

22 this Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970,

23 or the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The

24 Secretary shall provide that such certification shall be con25 ducted by nongovernmental agencies, unless the Secretary
48

•HR 1834 IH

1 determines that nongovernmental agencies with profes2 sional or technical personnel or materials and equipment

3 are not available.’’.

4 SEC. 21. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 Except as otherwise provided, this Act and amend6 ments made by this Act shall take effect 120 days after

7 the date of the enactment of this Act.

Æ

HR 1834 IH——2

HR 1834 IH——3

HR 1834 IH——4