I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8739 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to ensure labels 

or other appropriate forms of warning are provided in English and 

in the language indicated by each employee exposed to the hazard as 

the primary language of such employee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2024 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. CARSON, Mr. MULLIN, 

Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. NORTON, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. LYNCH, and Mr. 

GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

to ensure labels or other appropriate forms of warning 

are provided in English and in the language indicated 

by each employee exposed to the hazard as the primary 

language of such employee, 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 ‘‘Language Access for 

5 Workers Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO OSHA. 

2 Section 6(b)(7) of the Occupational Safety and 

3 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)(7)) is amended in 

4 the first sentence by inserting before the period the fol5 lowing: ‘‘, including by requiring that such labels or other 

6 appropriate forms of warning be provided in English and 

7 a language understood by employees reasonably expected 

8 to be exposed to the hazard and prepared appropriately 

9 for the vocabulary, educational level, and literacy of such 

10 employees’’. 

11 SEC. 3. RULEMAKING. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Secretary shall amend any standards pro14 mulgated pursuant to section 6 of the Occupational Safety 

15 and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655) as necessary to 

16 comply with the amendment made by section 2. 

17 SEC. 4. GRANTS AUTHORIZED FOR TRANSLATION SERV18 ICES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 

20 under subsection (e), the Secretary of Labor shall award 

21 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to pro22 vide translation or related services to covered individuals 

23 to ensure that such individuals receive any contracts, 

24 manuals, or training or other instruction related to the 

25 employment of such individuals in a language and manner 

26 that is understandable to such individuals, including 


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1 translating any labels or other appropriate forms of warn2 ing required by the first sentence of section 6(b)(7). 

3 (b) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec4 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

5 that— 

6 (1) serve or employ covered individuals in a ge7 ographic area with a high population of migrant em8 ployees; or 

9 (2) serve or employ covered individuals in the 

10 agricultural or service industry. 

11 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

12 under this section, an eligible entity shall prepare and sub13 mit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such 

14 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 

15 may require, which shall include a description of how the 

16 eligible entity proposes to use the grant to assist covered 

17 individuals. 

18 (d) REPORTS.— 

19 (1) REPORT TO THE SECRETARY.—An eligible 

20 entity that receives a grant under this section shall 

21 submit to the Secretary, and the Bureau of the Cen22 sus, a report, on a annual basis, on the number of 

23 covered individuals assisted with such grant, 

24 disaggregated by the occupation or industry sector, 


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1 and the type of assistance provided to such individ2 uals with such grant. 

3 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

4 shall submit to Congress each report received under 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

7 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means an employer, nonprofit organization, an 

9 employment provider, an employer association, or a 

10 labor organization, for which covered individuals 

11 comprise at least 40 percent of the individuals who 

12 are employed or served by such employer or other 

13 entity. 

14 (2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

15 individual’’ means an individual— 

16 (A) who is employed or is seeking employ17 ment; 

18 (B) who has limited ability in reading, 

19 writing, speaking, or comprehending the 

20 English language; and 

21 (C)(i) whose native language is a language 

22 other than English; or 

23 (ii) who lives in a family or community en24 vironment where a language other than English 

25 is the dominant language. 


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1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Labor. 

Æ 


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