II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 270 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2023 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To improve protections for meatpacking workers, and for 

other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act of 

6 2023’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—REFORMS TO PROTECT MEAT AND POULTRY 

PROCESSING WORKERS 

Subtitle A—Department of Agriculture 

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

Subtitle B—Fair Attendance Policies 

Sec. 111. Definitions. 

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

or attendance systems. 

Sec. 113. Enforcement authority. 

Sec. 114. Regulations. 

Sec. 115. Relationship to other laws. 

Sec. 116. Waiver of State immunity. 

Sec. 117. Severability. 

Subtitle C—Occupational Safety and Health Administration Reforms 

Sec. 121. Definitions. 

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

covered establishments. 

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

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

Sec. 125. Representatives during physical inspections. 

Sec. 126. Enhanced protections from retaliation. 

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

musculoskeletal disorders. 

Sec. 128. Funding for additional OSHA inspectors. 

Sec. 129. OSHA reporting. 

Sec. 130. Private right of action. 

Sec. 131. Injunction proceedings. 

Subtitle D—Savings Provision 

Sec. 136. Savings provision. 

TITLE II—FARM SYSTEM REFORMS 

Sec. 201. Expanded meat and poultry processing grants. 

Sec. 202. Local Agriculture Market Program. 

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

pork; inclusion of dairy products. 

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

Sec. 205. Unlawful practices. 

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

Sec. 207. Investigation of live poultry dealers. 

Sec. 208. Award of attorney fees. 

Sec. 209. Technical amendments. 

TITLE III—GAO REPORTS 

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


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

Sec. 303. GAO report on line speeds. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) meat and poultry slaughter and processing 

4 is a particularly dangerous occupation, with meat 

5 and poultry processing workers suffering injuries at 

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

8 (2) meat and poultry processing workers face 

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

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

13 (3) meat and poultry processing workers suffer 

14 from musculoskeletal injuries, such as carpal tunnel 

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

16 injuries, lower back injuries, and chronic pain and 

17 numbness, in numbers that can exceed 50 percent of 

18 workers; 

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

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

23 (5) meat and poultry processing work was and 

24 continues to be particularly dangerous during the 


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1 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic 

2 due to, among other factors— 

3 (A) the easily transmissible nature of the 

4 virus via aerosol and droplet; 

5 (B) the close proximity of meat processing 

6 workers; 

7 (C) cold conditions inside meat processing 

8 facilities; and 

9 (D) the pace and physical rigor of meat 

10 and poultry processing work; 

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

12 establishments have implemented policies and proce13 dures that have— 

14 (A) increased workers’ risk of exposure to 

15 SARS–CoV–2; 

16 (B) prioritized processing rates over work17 er health and welfare; and 

18 (C) caused a disparate adverse impact on 

19 Asian, Black, and Latino workers in the meat 

20 and poultry processing industry; 

21 (7) enforcement of requirements of the Occupa22 tional Safety and Health Administration in the meat 

23 and poultry processing industry has been fundamen24 tally inadequate, especially during the COVID–19 

25 pandemic; and 


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1 (8) meat and poultry processing workers are 

2 subjected to exploitative conditions and abusive be3 havior by employers— 

4 (A) including— 

5 (i) use of abusive and humiliating 

6 shouting by supervisors accusing workers 

7 of not working fast enough and harassing 

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

9 (ii) use of sexualized language to har10 ass women workers to work ‘‘harder’’ and 

11 ‘‘faster’’; 

12 (iii) patterns of direct sexual harass13 ment and incidents of sexual assault; and 

14 (iv) little or no accountability or re15 dress for emotional, sexualized, or psycho16 logical abuse due to— 

17 (I) weak enforcement of, and 

18 noncompliance with, discrimination 

19 protections; and 

20 (II) meat and poultry processing 

21 workers not reporting the abuse due 

22 to fear of receiving more abuse, hav23 ing their employment terminated, or 

24 being reported to immigration en25 forcement; and 


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1 (B) that lead to long-term psychological 

2 impacts, including— 

3 (i) increased feelings of anger and 

4 stress by workers pressured to work faster 

5 and more aggressively to slaughter animals 

6 on killing lines; and 

7 (ii) episodes of panic and fear by 

8 workers who were required to continue 

9 working during COVID–19 outbreaks. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) COVERED ESTABLISHMENT.—The term 

13 ‘‘covered establishment’’ means— 

14 (A) an official establishment (as defined in 

15 section 301.2 of title 9, Code of Federal Regu16 lations (or successor regulations)) that is sub17 ject to inspection under the Federal Meat In18 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and 

19 (B) an official establishment (as defined in 

20 section 381.1 of title 9, Code of Federal Regu21 lations (or successor regulations)) that is sub22 ject to inspection under the Poultry Products 

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

24 (2) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe25 riod’’ means the period beginning on the date of enVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S270.IS S270

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1 actment of this Act and ending on the date that is 

2 90 days after the date on which the COVID–19 

3 emergency is lifted. 

4 (3) COVID–19 EMERGENCY.—The term 

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

6 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 

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

9 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 

10 (4) EMPLOYEE; EMPLOYER.—Unless otherwise 

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

12 have the meanings given those terms in section 3 of 

13 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

14 U.S.C. 652). 

15 TITLE I—REFORMS TO PROTECT 

16 MEAT AND POULTRY PROC17 ESSING WORKERS 

18 Subtitle A—Department of 

19 Agriculture 

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

21 POULTRY ESTABLISHMENTS. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis24 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Service. 


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1 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist2 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

3 Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. 

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

5 the Director of the National Institute for Occupa6 tional Safety and Health. 

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

8 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

10 Food Safety Inspection Service. 

11 (b) RULE ON WAIVERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law (including regulations, including 

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

15 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)), the 

16 Secretary, acting through the Administrator, shall 

17 not issue a waiver relating to line speeds at a cov18 ered establishment or inspection staffing require19 ments for a covered establishment unless the covered 

20 establishment— 

21 (A) agrees to an inspection conducted by 

22 the Assistant Secretary or the Director for the 

23 purposes of the waiver; and 

24 (B) the Assistant Secretary or the Director 

25 certifies to the Secretary that any increases in 


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1 line speed at the covered establishment would 

2 not have an adverse impact on worker safety. 

3 (2) INSPECTIONS.—An inspection conducted by 

4 the Assistant Secretary or the Director under para5 graph (1)(A) shall include— 

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

7 applicable covered establishment that may expe8 rience an increased work pace due to increasing 

9 the number of animals being slaughtered— 

10 (i) per minute; and 

11 (ii) per hour; 

12 (B) an assessment of the current rates of 

13 musculoskeletal disorders in the covered estab14 lishment; 

15 (C) a review of current efforts at the cov16 ered establishment to mitigate those disorders, 

17 including a review of how medical personnel at 

18 the covered establishment manage those dis19 orders; and 

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

21 line speed increases on the pace of work for 

22 workers on the slaughter and production lines 

23 of the covered establishment (including the 

24 workers that package the meat). 


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1 (3) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OVER LINE

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

3 Secretary during the covered period may be used to 

4 develop, propose, finalize, issue, amend, or imple5 ment any policy, regulation, directive, constituent 

6 update, or any other agency program that would in7 crease line speeds at covered establishments. 

8 (4) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection shall 

10 not preempt or limit any law or regulation of a 

11 State or a political subdivision of a State that— 

12 (i) imposes requirements that are 

13 more protective of worker safety or animal 

14 welfare than the requirements of this sub15 section; or 

16 (ii) creates penalties for conduct regu17 lated by this subsection. 

18 (B) OTHER LAWS.—The requirements of 

19 this subsection are in addition to, and not in 

20 lieu of, any other laws protecting worker safety 

21 and animal welfare. 

22 (c) TRANSPARENCY IN RULEMAKING.—With respect 

23 to each rulemaking proceeding initiated by the Adminis24 trator on or after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

25 Administrator shall comply with— 


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

2 which state that the Service and the offices of the 

3 Service are held to a standard of transparency to en4 sure that the information shared by the Service is 

5 presented in an accurate, reliable, and unbiased 

6 manner; and 

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

8 relating to improving regulation and regulatory re9 view), which requires Federal agencies to provide 

10 timely online access to relevant scientific information 

11 in an open format that can easily be searched and 

12 downloaded during a proposed rulemaking. 

13 (d) EVALUATION OF RULEMAKING AND POLICIES.— 

14 In evaluating the impact of any future rulemaking or pol15 icy, the Secretary shall request that the Director conduct 

16 an evaluation of the rulemaking or policy that includes a 

17 review of— 

18 (1) current safety conditions and injuries and 

19 illnesses at the applicable covered establishments, in20 cluding medical exams and medical histories; 

21 (2) whether the policy proposals will increase 

22 the pace of work for any employee at the applicable 

23 covered establishments; and 

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

25 proposals will impact worker safety. 


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1 (e) REPORTS.— 

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

3 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

4 Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary 

5 of Health and Human Services shall each submit to 

6 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For7 estry and the Committee on Health, Education, 

8 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com9 mittee on Agriculture and the Committee on Edu10 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives, 

11 a report that— 

12 (A) describes the actions taken by that 

13 Secretary to ensure worker, animal, and food 

14 safety during the COVID–19 emergency; and 

15 (B) includes an analysis of the issues de16 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (12) of sec17 tion 303(b). 

18 (2) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF

19 RULES.— 

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

21 after the implementation of any rule relating to 

22 line speeds at covered establishments, the Sec23 retary shall submit to Congress a report on the 

24 impact of the rule on— 


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1 (i) line speeds at covered establish2 ments; 

3 (ii) worker safety and health at cov4 ered establishments; 

5 (iii) ergonomic aspects of jobs at cov6 ered establishments; and 

7 (iv) staffing levels that will ensure 

8 worker safety at covered establishments. 

9 (B) REQUIREMENT.—A report under sub10 paragraph (A) shall include— 

11 (i) the results of a study carried out 

12 by an industrial engineer on every type of 

13 job at covered establishments impacted by 

14 the applicable rule; 

15 (ii) a determination of the industrial 

16 engineer of the number of workers need17 ed— 

18 (I) to do each job safely; and 

19 (II) to operate the covered estab20 lishment at different line speeds; and 

21 (iii) a job crewing report prepared by 

22 the industrial engineer. 


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1 Subtitle B—Fair Attendance 

2 Policies 

3 SEC. 111. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this subtitle: 

5 (1) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

6 an individual who is— 

7 (A)(i) an employee, as defined in section 

8 3(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 

9 (29 U.S.C. 203(e)), who is not covered under 

10 subparagraph (E), including such an employee 

11 of the Library of Congress, except that a ref12 erence in such section to an employer shall be 

13 considered to be a reference to an employer de14 scribed in clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of paragraph 

15 (2)(A); or 

16 (ii) an employee of the Government Ac17 countability Office; 

18 (B) a State employee described in section 

19 304(a) of the Government Employee Rights Act 

20 of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); 

21 (C) a covered employee, as defined in sec22 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability 

23 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301); 

24 (D) a covered employee, as defined in sec25 tion 411(c) of title 3, United States Code; or 


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1 (E) a Federal officer or employee covered 

2 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5, 

3 United States Code (without regard to the limi4 tation in section 6381(1)(B) of that title). 

5 (2) EMPLOYER.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘employer’’ 

7 means a person who is— 

8 (i)(I) a covered employer, as defined 

9 in subparagraph (B), who is not covered 

10 under any other subclause of this clause; 

11 (II) an entity employing a State em12 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

13 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991; 

14 (III) an employing office, as defined 

15 in section 101 of the Congressional Ac16 countability Act of 1995; 

17 (IV) an employing office, as defined in 

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

19 Code; or 

20 (V) an employing agency covered 

21 under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 

22 5, United States Code; and 

23 (ii) engaged in commerce (including 

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1 fecting commerce (including government), 

2 as defined in subparagraph (B)(iii). 

3 (B) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—In subparagraph 

5 (A)(i)(I), the term ‘‘covered employer’’— 

6 (I) means any person engaged in 

7 commerce or in any industry or activ8 ity affecting commerce who employs 

9 15 or more employees for each work10 ing day during each of 20 or more 

11 calendar workweeks in the current or 

12 preceding year; 

13 (II) includes— 

14 (aa) any person who acts, 

15 directly or indirectly, in the inter16 est of an employer to any of the 

17 employees of such employer; and 

18 (bb) any successor in inter19 est of an employer; 

20 (III) includes any public agency, 

21 as defined in section 3(x) of the Fair 

22 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

23 U.S.C. 203(x)); and 


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1 (IV) includes the Government 

2 Accountability Office and the Library 

3 of Congress. 

4 (ii) PUBLIC AGENCY.—For purposes 

5 of clause (i)(III), a public agency shall be 

6 considered to be a person engaged in com7 merce or in an industry or activity affect8 ing commerce. 

9 (iii) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

10 this subparagraph: 

11 (I) COMMERCE.—The terms 

12 ‘‘commerce’’ and ‘‘industry or activity 

13 affecting commerce’’ mean any activ14 ity, business, or industry in commerce 

15 or in which a labor dispute would 

16 hinder or obstruct commerce or the 

17 free flow of commerce, and include 

18 commerce and any industry affecting 

19 commerce, as defined in paragraphs 

20 (1) and (3) of section 501 of the 

21 Labor Management Relations Act, 

22 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142). 

23 (II) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘em24 ployee’’ has the meaning given such 

25 term in section 3(e) of the Fair Labor 


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1 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

2 203(e)). 

3 (C) PREDECESSORS.—Any reference in 

4 this paragraph to an employer shall include a 

5 reference to any predecessor of such employer. 

6 (3) LEGALLY PROTECTED LEAVE.—The term 

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

8 an employee, means leave that is protected under a 

9 Federal, State, or local law applicable to the em10 ployee. 

11 (4) NO FAULT ATTENDANCE POLICY.—The 

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

13 pattern and practice maintained by an employer 

14 under which employees face consequences for any 

15 absence, tardy, or early departure through the as16 sessment of points (also referred to as ‘‘demerits’’ or 

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

18 of time, and those points or deductions subject the 

19 employee to progressive disciplinary action, which 

20 may include failure to receive a promotion, loss of 

21 pay, or termination. 

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

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

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


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

2 the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Adminis3 trator of the Wage and Hour Division. 

4 SEC. 112. REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS RELATING TO 

5 NO FAULT ATTENDANCE POLICIES OR AT6 TENDANCE SYSTEMS. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR NO FAULT ATTENDANCE

8 POLICY.—It shall be considered an unlawful employment 

9 practice for an employer to maintain a no fault attendance 

10 policy, unless the employer complies with the following: 

11 (1) The no fault attendance policy shall be dis12 tributed in writing— 

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

14 of enactment of this Act, to all employees em15 ployed by the employer as of that date of dis16 tribution; and 

17 (B) with respect to each employee hired by 

18 the employer after such date of enactment, 

19 upon the commencement of the employee’s em20 ployment. 

21 (2) If any changes are made to the no fault at22 tendance policy, the no fault attendance policy shall 

23 be distributed in writing to all employees by not 

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


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1 (3) The employer shall provide employees with 

2 a means of accessing the no fault attendance policy 

3 at any physical workplace and outside of a physical 

4 workplace. 

5 (4) The no fault attendance policy shall explic6 itly state that employees will not face disciplinary 

7 action or other adverse consequences, which may in8 clude the assessment of points or a deduction from 

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

10 (5) The no fault attendance policy shall specifi11 cally reference and provide a reasonable amount of 

12 detail about all Federal, State, and local laws appli13 cable to the employees that provide legally protected 

14 leave, including the Americans with Disabilities Act 

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

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

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

18 (6) The no fault attendance policy shall identify 

19 a process for employees to complete each of the fol20 lowing: 

21 (A) Report that an absence is for legally 

22 protected leave. 

23 (B) Provide medical documentation, if it is 

24 required under the no fault attendance policy in 


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1 order to avoid disciplinary action or other ad2 verse consequences for legally protected leave. 

3 (C) Seek removal of points that an em4 ployee believes were wrongly assessed, or the 

5 restoration of time that an employee believes 

6 was wrongly deducted for legally protected 

7 leave. 

8 (D) Delay the reporting of an absence in 

9 unforeseen or emergency circumstances without 

10 incurring additional points or discipline. 

11 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ATTENDANCE SYSTEMS.— 

12 It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an em13 ployer to maintain any attendance system policy, or pat14 tern and practice, that discourages employees from exer15 cising, or attempting to exercise, any right to legally pro16 tected leave. 

17 (c) ADDITIONAL PROHIBITIONS.— 

18 (1) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS.— 

19 (A) EXERCISE OF RIGHTS.—It shall be an 

20 unlawful employment practice for any employer 

21 to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise 

22 of, or the attempt to exercise, any right pro23 vided under this subtitle, including— 

24 (i) discharging or discriminating 

25 against (including retaliating against) any 


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1 individual for exercising, or attempting to 

2 exercise, any right provided under this sub3 title; or 

4 (ii) using the taking of legally pro5 tected leave as a negative factor in an em6 ployment action, such as hiring, promotion, 

7 reducing hours or number of shifts, or a 

8 disciplinary action. 

9 (B) DISCRIMINATION.—It shall be an un10 lawful employment practice for any employer to 

11 discharge or in any other manner discriminate 

12 against (including retaliating against) any indi13 vidual for opposing any practice made unlawful 

14 by this subtitle. 

15 (2) INTERFERENCE WITH PROCEEDINGS OR IN16 QUIRIES.—It shall be an unlawful employment prac17 tice for any person to discharge or in any other 

18 manner discriminate against (including retaliating 

19 against) any individual because such individual— 

20 (A) has filed an action, or has instituted or 

21 caused to be instituted any proceeding, under 

22 or related to this subtitle; 

23 (B) has given, or is about to give, any in24 formation in connection with any inquiry or 


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1 proceeding relating to any right provided under 

2 this subtitle; or 

3 (C) has testified, or is about to testify, in 

4 any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right 

5 provided under this subtitle. 

6 SEC. 113. ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection— 

9 (A) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an em10 ployee described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

11 section 111(1); 

12 (B) the term ‘‘employer’’ means an em13 ployer described in clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of sec14 tion 111(2)(A) or clauses (i)(II) and (ii) of such 

15 section; and 

16 (C) the term ‘‘other individual affected’’ 

17 does not include an individual covered under 

18 subsection (b), (c), or (d). 

19 (2) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance 

21 with the provisions of this subtitle, or any regu22 lation or order issued under this subtitle, the 

23 Secretary shall have the investigative authority 

24 provided under section 11(a) of the Fair Labor 

25 Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(a)), 


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1 with respect to employers, employees, and other 

2 individuals affected. 

3 (B) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.—For the pur4 poses of any investigation provided for in this 

5 paragraph, the Secretary shall have the sub6 poena authority provided for under section 9 of 

7 the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

8 U.S.C. 209). 

9 (3) CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEES OR OTHER

10 INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED.— 

11 (A) RIGHT OF ACTION.—An action to re12 cover the damages or equitable relief prescribed 

13 in subparagraph (B) may be maintained 

14 against any employer in any Federal or State 

15 court of competent jurisdiction by one or more 

16 employees or other individuals affected or their 

17 representative for and on behalf of— 

18 (i) the employees or individuals; or 

19 (ii) the employees or individuals and 

20 others similarly situated. 

21 (B) LIABILITY.—Any employer who vio22 lates section 112 shall be liable to any employee 

23 or other individual affected— 

24 (i) for damages equal to— 

25 (I) the amount of— 


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1 (aa) any wages, salary, em2 ployment benefits, or other com3 pensation denied or lost by rea4 son of the violation; or 

5 (bb) in a case in which 

6 wages, salary, employment bene7 fits, or other compensation have 

8 not been denied or lost, any ac9 tual monetary losses sustained as 

10 a direct result of the violation up 

11 to a sum equal to 56 hours of 

12 wages or salary for the employee 

13 or individual; 

14 (II) the interest on the amount 

15 described in subclause (I) calculated 

16 at the prevailing rate; and 

17 (III) an additional amount as liq18 uidated damages; and 

19 (ii) for such equitable relief as may be 

20 appropriate, including employment, rein21 statement, and promotion. 

22 (C) FEES AND COSTS.—The court in an 

23 action under this paragraph shall, in addition to 

24 any judgment awarded to the plaintiff, allow a 

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1 ness fees, and other costs of the action to be 

2 paid by the defendant. 

3 (4) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

4 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Sec5 retary shall receive, investigate, and attempt to 

6 resolve complaints of violations of section 112 

7 with respect to employers, employees, and other 

8 individuals affected in the same manner that 

9 the Secretary receives, investigates, and at10 tempts to resolve complaints of violations of 

11 sections 6 and 7 of the Fair Labor Standards 

12 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 and 207). 

13 (B) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may 

14 bring an action in any court of competent juris15 diction to recover the damages described in 

16 paragraph (3)(B)(i). 

17 (C) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov18 ered by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph 

19 (B) shall be held in a special deposit account 

20 and shall be paid, on order of the Secretary, di21 rectly to each employee or other individual af22 fected. Any such sums not paid to an employee 

23 or other individual affected because of inability 

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1 posited into the Treasury of the United States 

2 as miscellaneous receipts. 

3 (5) LIMITATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), an action may be brought 

6 under paragraph (3), (4), or (6) not later than 

7 2 years after the date of the last event consti8 tuting the alleged violation for which the action 

9 is brought. 

10 (B) WILLFUL VIOLATION.—In the case of 

11 an action brought for a willful violation of sec12 tion 112, such action may be brought not later 

13 than 3 years after of the last event constituting 

14 the alleged violation for which such action is 

15 brought. 

16 (C) COMMENCEMENT.—In determining 

17 when an action is commenced under paragraph 

18 (3), (4), or (6) for the purposes of this para19 graph, it shall be considered to be commenced 

20 on the date when the complaint is filed. 

21 (6) ACTION FOR INJUNCTION BY SECRETARY.— 

22 The district courts of the United States shall have 

23 jurisdiction, for cause shown, in an action brought 

24 by the Secretary— 


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1 (A) to restrain violations of section 112, 

2 including the restraint of any withholding of 

3 payment of wages, salary, employment benefits, 

4 or other compensation, plus interest, found by 

5 the court to be due to employees or individuals 

6 eligible under this subtitle; or 

7 (B) to award such other equitable relief as 

8 may be appropriate, including employment, re9 instatement, and promotion. 

10 (7) SOLICITOR OF LABOR.—The Solicitor of 

11 Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary 

12 on any litigation brought under paragraph (4) or 

13 (6). 

14 (8) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

15 AND LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any 

16 other provision of this subsection, in the case of the 

17 Government Accountability Office and the Library of 

18 Congress, the authority of the Secretary of Labor 

19 under this subsection shall be exercised respectively 

20 by the Comptroller General of the United States and 

21 the Librarian of Congress. 

22 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC23 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—The powers, remedies, and 

24 procedures provided in the Congressional Accountability 

25 Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) to the Board (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S270.IS S270

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1 fined in section 101 of that Act (2 U.S.C. 1301)), or any 

2 person, alleging a violation of section 202(a)(1) of that 

3 Act (2 U.S.C. 1312(a)(1)) shall be the powers, remedies, 

4 and procedures this subtitle provides to that Board, or any 

5 person, alleging an unlawful employment practice in viola6 tion of this subtitle against an employee described in sec7 tion 111(1)(C) or other individual affected by an employer 

8 described in clauses (i)(III) and (ii) of section 111(2)(A). 

9 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

10 3, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, remedies, and 

11 procedures provided in chapter 5 of title 3, United States 

12 Code, to the President, the Merit Systems Protection 

13 Board, or any person, alleging a violation of section 

14 412(a)(1) of that title, shall be the powers, remedies, and 

15 procedures this subtitle provides to the President, that 

16 Board, or any person, respectively, alleging an unlawful 

17 employment practice in violation of this subtitle against 

18 an employee described in section 111(1)(D) or other indi19 vidual affected by an employer described in clauses (i)(IV) 

20 and (ii) of section 111(2)(A). 

21 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE

22 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—The powers, remedies, and 

23 procedures provided in title 5, United States Code, to an 

24 employing agency, provided in chapter 12 of that title to 

25 the Merit Systems Protection Board, or provided in that 


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1 title to any person, alleging a violation of chapter 63 of 

2 that title, shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures 

3 this subtitle provides to that agency, that Board, or any 

4 person, respectively, alleging an unlawful employment 

5 practice in violation of this subtitle against an employee 

6 described in section 111(1)(E) or other individual affected 

7 by an employer described in clauses (i)(V) and (ii) of sec8 tion 111(2)(A). 

9 SEC. 114. REGULATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) AUTHORITY.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), not later than 180 days after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination 

14 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis15 sion and the heads of other relevant Federal agen16 cies, shall prescribe such regulations as are nec17 essary to carry out this subtitle with respect to em18 ployees described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sec19 tion 111(1) and other individuals affected by em20 ployers described in clauses (i)(I) and (ii) of section 

21 111(2)(A) or clauses (i)(II) and (ii) of such section. 

22 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE; LI23 BRARY OF CONGRESS.—The Comptroller General of 

24 the United States and the Librarian of Congress 

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1 ployees of the Government Accountability Office and 

2 the Library of Congress, respectively, and other indi3 viduals affected by the Comptroller General of the 

4 United States and the Librarian of Congress, re5 spectively. 

6 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC7 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— 

8 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 90 days after 

9 the Secretary prescribes regulations under sub10 section (a), the Board of Directors of the Office of 

11 Compliance shall prescribe (in accordance with sec12 tion 304 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 

13 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1384)) such regulations as are nec14 essary to carry out this subtitle with respect to em15 ployees described in section 111(1)(C) and other in16 dividuals affected by employers described in clauses 

17 (i)(III) and (ii) of section 111(2)(A). 

18 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

19 prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 

20 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec21 retary to carry out this subtitle except insofar as the 

22 Board may determine, for good cause shown and 

23 stated together with the regulations prescribed 

24 under paragraph (1), that a modification of such 

25 regulations would be more effective for the impleVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S270.IS S270

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1 mentation of the rights and protections involved 

2 under this section. 

3 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

4 3, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

5 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 90 days after 

6 the Secretary prescribes regulations under sub7 section (a), the President (or the designee of the 

8 President) shall prescribe such regulations as are 

9 necessary to carry out this subtitle with respect to 

10 employees described in section 111(1)(D) and other 

11 individuals affected by employers described in 

12 clauses (i)(IV) and (ii) of section 111(2)(A). 

13 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

14 prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 

15 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec16 retary to carry out this subtitle except insofar as the 

17 President (or designee) may determine, for good 

18 cause shown and stated together with the regula19 tions prescribed under paragraph (1), that a modi20 fication of such regulations would be more effective 

21 for the implementation of the rights and protections 

22 involved under this section. 

23 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 63 OF TITLE

24 5, UNITED STATES CODE.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the Secretary prescribes regulations under sub3 section (a), the Director of the Office of Personnel 

4 Management shall prescribe such regulations as are 

5 necessary to carry out this subtitle with respect to 

6 employees described in section 111(1)(E) and other 

7 individuals affected by employers described in 

8 clauses (i)(V) and (ii) of section 111(2)(A). 

9 (2) AGENCY REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

10 prescribed under paragraph (1) shall be the same as 

11 substantive regulations promulgated by the Sec12 retary to carry out this subtitle except insofar as the 

13 Director may determine, for good cause shown and 

14 stated together with the regulations prescribed 

15 under paragraph (1), that a modification of such 

16 regulations would be more effective for the imple17 mentation of the rights and protections involved 

18 under this section. 

19 (e) REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL REGULATIONS.—All 

20 regulations prescribed under this section shall— 

21 (1) be issued in an accessible format in accord22 ance with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, 

23 United States Code; and 


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1 (2) provide an example of a model no fault at2 tendance policy that conforms to the requirements of 

3 this subtitle. 

4 SEC. 115. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 

5 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to invali6 date or limit the powers, remedies, and procedures under 

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

8 of any State or jurisdiction that provide leave rights, 

9 whether paid or unpaid (such as sick time, family or med10 ical leave, and time off as an accommodation). 

11 SEC. 116. WAIVER OF STATE IMMUNITY. 

12 A State shall not be immune under the 11th Amend13 ment to the Constitution of the United States from an 

14 action in a Federal or State court of competent jurisdic15 tion for a violation of this subtitle. In any action against 

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

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

18 a violation to the same extent as such remedies are avail19 able for such a violation in an action against any public 

20 or private entity other than a State. 

21 SEC. 117. SEVERABILITY. 

22 If any provision of this subtitle or the application of 

23 that provision to particular persons or circumstances is 

24 held invalid or found to be unconstitutional, the remainder 


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1 of this subtitle and the application of that provision to 

2 other persons or circumstances shall not be affected. 

3 Subtitle C—Occupational Safety 

4 and Health Administration Re5 forms 

6 SEC. 121. DEFINITIONS. 

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

8 the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Occupa9 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652). 

10 SEC. 122. ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH EMPLOYEE 

11 RIGHTS TO USE TOILET FACILITIES AT COV12 ERED ESTABLISHMENTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—During any inspection of a cov14 ered establishment conducted pursuant to section 8 of the 

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

16 657), the Secretary shall verify that the employer of em17 ployees working at such establishment is in compliance 

18 with the occupational safety and health standard set forth 

19 in section 1910.141 of title 29, Code of Federal Regula20 tions, as in effect on the day before the date of enactment 

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

22 employees to visit and use toilet facilities, including such 

23 standard as interpreted by the memorandum for regional 

24 administrators and State designees regarding ‘‘Interpreta25 tion of 29 CFR. 1910.141(c)(1): Toilet Facilities’’ issued 


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1 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on 

2 April 6, 1998. 

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

4 the Secretary shall verify that the employer described in 

5 such subsection— 

6 (1) allows employees to leave their work loca7 tions to use a toilet facility when needed and without 

8 punishment; 

9 (2) provides an adequate number of toilet facili10 ties for the size of the workforce to prevent long 

11 lines; 

12 (3) avoids imposing unreasonable restrictions 

13 including waiting lists on the use of toilet facilities; 

14 (4) ensures that restrictions, such as locking 

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

16 not cause extended delays in access to toilet facili17 ties; and 

18 (5) compensates each employee for breaks for 

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

20 employee in accordance with section 785.18 of title 

21 29, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the 

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

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


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

3 ESTABLISHMENTS. 

4 (a) STANDARD FOR PROTECTING EMPLOYEES FROM

5 OCCUPATIONAL RISK FACTORS CAUSING MUSCULO6 SKELETAL DISORDERS.— 

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

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

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

11 655), publish in the Federal Register a proposed 

12 standard for ergonomic program management for 

13 covered establishments. Such proposed standard 

14 shall include requirements for— 

15 (A) hazard identification and ergonomic 

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

18 participation in such identification; 

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

21 controls and which may include measures such 

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

24 less forceful or repetitive jobs; 

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


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

3 (D) medical management that includes— 

4 (i) encouraging early reporting of 

5 musculoskeletal disorder symptoms; 

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

8 and 

9 (iii) systematic evaluation and early 

10 referral for medical attention. 

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

12 months after the date of enactment this Act, the 

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

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

18 (b) STANDARD FOR PROTECTING EMPLOYEES FROM

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

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

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

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

25 655), publish in the Federal Register a proposed 


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1 standard requiring that all employers with employees 

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

4 1910.151 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, 

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

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

7 available at the establishment who is adequately 

8 trained to render first aid, shall ensure that such 

9 person— 

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

14 choice for such treatment; 

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

17 board certified in occupational medicine, which 

18 services shall include— 

19 (i) regular review of any health and 

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

23 (ii) review of any work-related injury 

24 or illness of an employee; 


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1 (iii) providing onsite health services 

2 for treatment of such injury or illness; and 

3 (iv) consultation referral to a local 

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

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

8 nurses in the State in which the establishment 

9 is located. 

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

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

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

17 (c) STANDARD FOR PROTECTING EMPLOYEES FROM

18 AIRBORNE CONTAGIONS.— 

19 (1) EMERGENCY TEMPORARY STANDARD FOR

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

21 presented by COVID–19 and the need to strengthen 

22 protections for workers at covered establishments, 

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

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


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1 Secretary of Labor shall promulgate an emergency 

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

5 CoV–2. 

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

8 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

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

10 promulgated under this subsection shall be in effect 

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

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

14 State with a State plan that has been approved by 

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

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

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

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

23 as the emergency temporary standard promulgated 

24 under this subsection. 


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1 (4) INAPPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF LAW AND

2 EXECUTIVE ORDER.—The provisions of law and the 

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

5 (A) The requirements of chapter 6 of title 

6 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as 

7 the ‘‘Regulatory Flexibility Act’’). 

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

9 United States Code (commonly referred to as 

10 the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’). 

11 (C) The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

21 Secretary of Labor shall, pursuant to section 6 of 

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

23 655), promulgate a final standard— 

24 (A) to protect employees, contractors, and 

25 temporary workers at covered establishments 


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

3 and 

4 (B) that shall be effective and enforceable 

5 in the same manner and to the same extent as 

6 a standard promulgated under section 6(b) of 

7 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 

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

9 (6) CONSULTATION.—In developing the stand10 ards under this subsection, the Secretary shall con11 sult with— 

12 (A) the Director of the Centers for Disease 

13 Control and Prevention; 

14 (B) the Director of the National Institute 

15 for Occupational Safety and Health; and 

16 (C) the professional associations and rep17 resentatives of the employees, contractors, and 

18 temporary workers at covered establishments. 

19 (7) REQUIREMENTS.—Each standard promul20 gated under this subsection shall include— 

21 (A) a requirement that the covered estab22 lishments— 

23 (i) develop and implement a com24 prehensive infectious disease exposure con25 trol plan, with the input and involvement 


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1 of employees or, where applicable, the rep2 resentatives of employees, as appropriate, 

3 to address the risk of occupational expo4 sure; 

5 (ii) record and report each work-re6 lated COVID–19 infection and death, as 

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

8 Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

9 date of enactment of this Act), and section 

10 129 of this Act; and 

11 (iii) reduce meat and poultry proc12 essing rates to achieve social distancing 

13 and implement applicable requirements 

14 sufficient to protect worker health with an 

15 adequate margin of safety; 

16 (B) no less protection for novel pathogens 

17 than precautions mandated by standards adopt18 ed by a State plan that has been approved by 

19 the Secretary under section 18 of the Occupa20 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

21 U.S.C. 667); and 

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

23 (i) guidelines issued by the Centers 

24 for Disease Control and Prevention, the 

25 National Institute for Occupational Safety 


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1 and Health, and the Occupational Safety 

2 and Health Administration, which are de3 signed to prevent the transmission of infec4 tious agents in health care or other occu5 pational settings; and 

6 (ii) relevant scientific research on air7 borne and novel pathogens. 

8 (8) ENFORCEMENT.—This subsection shall be 

9 enforced in the same manner and to the same extent 

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

11 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

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

13 SEC. 124. PERMANENT REGIONAL EMPHASIS INSPECTION 

14 PROGRAM; EXPANDING INSPECTIONS. 

15 (a) REGIONAL EMPHASIS INSPECTION PROGRAM.— 

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

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 shall, pursuant to section 8 of the Occupational 

19 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657), im20 plement a regional emphasis inspection program for 

21 covered establishments in every State of the United 

22 States in which a covered establishment is located. 

23 Such program shall cover— 

24 (A) amputation hazards; 

25 (B) ergonomics; 


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1 (C) hazards related to line speeds; 

2 (D) bathroom breaks; 

3 (E) use of chemicals such as peracetic acid 

4 (antimicrobials); and 

5 (F) working conditions in high and low 

6 temperatures. 

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

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

9 a State plan that has been approved by the Sec10 retary under section 18 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 667) 

11 shall adopt in each region within the State in which 

12 a covered establishment is located a regional empha13 sis inspection program that is at least as effective as 

14 the program under paragraph (1). 

15 (b) EXPANDING INSPECTIONS WHEN INFORMATION

16 PRESENTS POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL DANGERS.— 

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

18 conducts a physical inspection of a covered establish19 ment pursuant to section 8 of such Act in response 

20 to a referral, complaint, or fatality, and the Sec21 retary, during such inspection makes a determina22 tion under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall expand 

23 such inspection to all areas of the establishment. 

24 (2) DETERMINATION.—A determination de25 scribed in this paragraph is either of the following: 


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1 (A) A determination, following a review of 

2 records of work-related injuries and illnesses 

3 maintained in accordance with such section 8, 

4 that a work-related injury or illness may be re5 lated to a workplace danger that may threaten 

6 physical harm. 

7 (B) A determination, upon interviews with 

8 employees, that a workplace danger may threat9 en physical harm. 

10 SEC. 125. REPRESENTATIVES DURING PHYSICAL INSPEC11 TIONS. 

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

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

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

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

16 Register a regulation providing that during a physical in17 spection of a covered establishment under such section— 

18 (1) the representative authorized by employees 

19 to be given the opportunity to accompany the Sec20 retary during the inspection as described in such 

21 section shall not be required to be an employee of 

22 the employer; 

23 (2) where there is no representative authorized 

24 by employees as described in paragraph (1), the em25 ployees may designate a person affiliated with a 


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1 worker-based community organization to serve as 

2 such representative; and 

3 (3) the inspector may arrange for interviews 

4 with employees off-site upon the request of the rep5 resentative or designated person. 

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

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

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

9 under subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 126. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FROM RETALIATION. 

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

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

13 660(c)(1)) is amended— 

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

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

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

17 other manner retaliate or discriminate against or 

18 cause to be retaliated or discriminated against, any 

19 employee because— 

20 ‘‘(A) such’’; 

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

22 the following: ‘‘this Act; 

23 ‘‘(B) such employee has’’; 

24 (3) by striking ‘‘in any such proceeding or be25 cause of the exercise’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘before Congress or in any Federal or State pro2 ceeding related to safety or health; 

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

4 any provision of this Act; or 

5 ‘‘(D) of the exercise’’; and 

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

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

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

9 the employer, safety and health committee involved, 

10 or employee safety and health representative in11 volved’’. 

12 (b) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATION; PROCEDURE.— 

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

14 (1) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘discharged or other17 wise discriminated against by any person 

18 in violation of this subsection’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘aggrieved by a violation of this sub20 section’’; and 

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

22 and inserting ‘‘such violation’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR MEAT AND POULTRY ES25 TABLISHMENTS.—Paragraphs (2) and (3) shall not 


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1 apply with respect to a complaint filed by an em2 ployee of an employer that is a covered establish3 ment, as defined in section 3 of the Protecting 

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

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

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

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

8 ‘‘(A) COMPLAINANT.—The term ‘complain9 ant’ means a complainant who is a covered em10 ployee. 

11 ‘‘(B) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

12 ‘covered employee’ means an employee of a cov13 ered employer. 

14 ‘‘(C) COVERED EMPLOYER.—The term 

15 ‘covered employer’ means an employer that is a 

16 covered establishment, as defined in section 3 of 

17 the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers 

18 Act. 

19 ‘‘(D) RESPONDENT.—The term ‘respond20 ent’ means a respondent who is a covered em21 ployer. 

22 ‘‘(2) REASONABLE APPREHENSION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No person shall dis24 charge, or cause to be discharged, or in any 

25 other manner retaliate or discriminate against, 


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1 or cause to be retaliated or discriminated 

2 against, a covered employee for refusing to per3 form the covered employee’s duties if the cov4 ered employee has a reasonable apprehension 

5 that performing such duties would result in se6 rious injury to, or serious impairment of the 

7 health of, the covered employee or other covered 

8 employees. 

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

10 subparagraph (A), the circumstances causing 

11 the covered employee’s reasonable apprehension 

12 described in such subparagraph shall be of such 

13 a nature that a reasonable person, under the 

14 circumstances confronting the covered em15 ployee, would conclude that performing the du16 ties described in such subparagraph would have 

17 the result described in such subparagraph. 

18 ‘‘(C) COMMUNICATION.—In order to qual19 ify for protection under this paragraph, the cov20 ered employee, when practicable, shall have 

21 communicated or attempted to communicate the 

22 safety or health concern to the covered em23 ployer and have not received from the covered 

24 employer a response reasonably calculated to 

25 allay such concern. 


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

2 believes that the covered employee has been dis3 charged, disciplined, or otherwise retaliated or dis4 criminated against by any person in violation of sub5 section (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this subsection 

6 may seek relief for such violation by filing a com7 plaint with the Secretary under paragraph (5). 

8 ‘‘(4) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

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

10 may take the action permitted by paragraph (3) 

11 not later than 180 days after the later of— 

12 ‘‘(i) the date on which an alleged vio13 lation of subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) 

14 of this subsection occurs; or 

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

16 employee knows or should reasonably have 

17 known that such alleged violation occurred. 

18 ‘‘(B) REPEAT VIOLATION.—Except in 

19 cases when the covered employee has been dis20 charged, a violation of subsection (c)(1) or 

21 paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be consid22 ered to have occurred on the last date an al23 leged repeat violation occurred. 

24 ‘‘(5) INVESTIGATION.— 


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

2 may, within the time period required under 

3 paragraph (4)(A), file a complaint with the Sec4 retary alleging a violation of subsection (c)(1) 

5 or paragraph (2) of this subsection. If the com6 plaint alleges a prima facie case, the Secretary 

7 shall conduct an investigation of the allegations 

8 in the complaint, which— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall include— 

10 ‘‘(I) interviewing the complain11 ant; 

12 ‘‘(II) providing the respondent an 

13 opportunity to— 

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

16 complaint; and 

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

19 witnesses or provide evidence; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(III) providing the complainant 

22 an opportunity to— 

23 ‘‘(aa) receive any statements 

24 or evidence provided to the Sec25 retary; 


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

3 ‘‘(cc) rebut any statements 

4 or evidence; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) may include issuing subpoenas 

6 for the purposes of such investigation. 

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

8 after the filing of the complaint under this 

9 paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) determine whether reasonable 

11 cause exists to believe that a violation of 

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

13 subsection has occurred; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) issue a decision granting or de15 nying relief. 

16 ‘‘(6) PRELIMINARY ORDER FOLLOWING INVES17 TIGATION.—If, after completion of an investigation 

18 under paragraph (5)(A), the Secretary finds reason19 able cause to believe that a violation of subsection 

20 (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this subsection has oc21 curred, the Secretary shall issue a preliminary order 

22 providing relief authorized under paragraph (14) at 

23 the same time the Secretary issues a decision under 

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1 graph (7)(A)(i), such preliminary order shall be 

2 deemed a final order of the Secretary and is not 

3 subject to judicial review. 

4 ‘‘(7) HEARING.— 

5 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR HEARING.— 

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

7 on the record before an administrative law 

8 judge may be requested— 

9 ‘‘(I) by the complainant or re10 spondent within 30 days after receiv11 ing notification of a decision granting 

12 or denying relief issued under para13 graph (5)(B) or a preliminary order 

14 under paragraph (6), respectively; 

15 ‘‘(II) by the complainant within 

16 30 days after the date the complaint 

17 is dismissed without investigation by 

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

19 or 

20 ‘‘(III) by the complainant within 

21 120 days after the date of filing the 

22 complaint under paragraph (5), if the 

23 Secretary has not issued a decision 

24 under paragraph (5)(B). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REINSTATEMENT ORDER.—The 

2 request for a hearing shall not operate to 

3 stay any preliminary reinstatement order 

4 issued under paragraph (6). 

5 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A hearing re7 quested under this paragraph shall be con8 ducted expeditiously and in accordance 

9 with rules established by the Secretary for 

10 hearings conducted by administrative law 

11 judges. 

12 ‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS; PRODUCTION OF

13 EVIDENCE.—In conducting any such hear14 ing, the administrative law judge may issue 

15 subpoenas. The respondent or complainant 

16 may request the issuance of subpoenas 

17 that require the deposition of, or the at18 tendance and testimony of, witnesses and 

19 the production of any evidence (including 

20 any books, papers, documents, or record21 ings) relating to the matter under consid22 eration. 

23 ‘‘(iii) DECISION.—The administrative 

24 law judge shall issue a decision not later 

25 than 90 days after the date on which a 


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1 hearing was requested under this para2 graph and promptly notify, in writing, the 

3 parties and the Secretary of such decision, 

4 including the findings of fact and conclu5 sions of law. If the administrative law 

6 judge finds that a violation of subsection 

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

8 has occurred, the judge shall issue an 

9 order for relief under paragraph (14). If 

10 review under paragraph (8) is not timely 

11 requested, such order shall be deemed a 

12 final order of the Secretary that is not sub13 ject to judicial review. 

14 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.— 

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

16 days after the date of notification of a decision 

17 and order issued by an administrative law judge 

18 under paragraph (7), the complainant or re19 spondent may file, with objections, an adminis20 trative appeal with an administrative review 

21 body designated by the Secretary (referred to in 

22 this paragraph as the ‘review board’). 

23 ‘‘(B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In review24 ing the decision and order of the administrative 

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1 cision and order if it is determined that the fac2 tual findings set forth therein are supported by 

3 substantial evidence and the decision and order 

4 are made in accordance with applicable law. 

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

6 grants an administrative appeal, the review 

7 board shall issue a final decision and order af8 firming or reversing, in whole or in part, the 

9 decision under review by not later than 90 days 

10 after receipt of the administrative appeal. If it 

11 is determined that a violation of subsection 

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

13 occurred, the review board shall issue a final 

14 decision and order providing relief authorized 

15 under paragraph (14). Such decision and order 

16 shall constitute final agency action with respect 

17 to the matter appealed. 

18 ‘‘(9) SETTLEMENT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE

19 PROCESS.— 

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

21 issuance of a final order, an investigation or 

22 proceeding under this subsection may be termi23 nated on the basis of a settlement agreement 

24 entered into by the parties. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.— 

2 Neither the Secretary, an administrative law 

3 judge, nor the review board conducting a hear4 ing under this subsection shall accept a settle5 ment that contains conditions conflicting with 

6 the rights protected under this Act or that are 

7 contrary to public policy, including a restriction 

8 on a complainant’s right to future employment 

9 with employers other than the specific covered 

10 employers named in a complaint. 

11 ‘‘(10) INACTION BY THE REVIEW BOARD OR AD12 MINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.— 

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

14 bring a de novo action described in subpara15 graph (B) if— 

16 ‘‘(i) an administrative law judge has 

17 not issued a decision and order within the 

18 90-day time period required under para19 graph (7)(B)(iii); or 

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

21 a decision and order within the 90-day 

22 time period required under paragraph 

23 (8)(C). 

24 ‘‘(B) DE NOVO ACTION.—Such de novo ac25 tion may be brought at law or equity in the 


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1 United States district court for the district 

2 where a violation of subsection (c)(1) or para3 graph (2) of this subsection allegedly occurred 

4 or where the complainant resided on the date of 

5 such alleged violation. The court shall have ju6 risdiction over such action without regard to the 

7 amount in controversy and to order appropriate 

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

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

10 tried by the court with a jury. 

11 ‘‘(11) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

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

13 APPEALS.—Any party adversely affected or ag14 grieved by a final decision and order issued 

15 under this subsection may obtain review of such 

16 decision and order in the United States Court 

17 of Appeals for the circuit where the violation, 

18 with respect to which such final decision and 

19 order was issued, allegedly occurred or where 

20 the complainant resided on the date of such al21 leged violation. To obtain such review, a party 

22 shall file a petition for review not later than 60 

23 days after the final decision and order was 

24 issued. Such review shall conform to chapter 7 

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1 ment of proceedings under this subparagraph 

2 shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate 

3 as a stay of the final decision and order. 

4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT5 TACK.—An order and decision with respect to 

6 which review may be obtained under subpara7 graph (A) shall not be subject to judicial review 

8 in any criminal or other civil proceeding. 

9 ‘‘(12) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—If a re10 spondent fails to comply with an order issued under 

11 this subsection, the Secretary or the complainant on 

12 whose behalf the order was issued may file a civil ac13 tion for enforcement in the United States district 

14 court for the district in which the violation was 

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

16 Secretary and the complainant file such action, the 

17 action of the Secretary shall take precedence. The 

18 district court shall have jurisdiction to grant all ap19 propriate relief described in paragraph (14). 

20 ‘‘(13) BURDENS OF PROOF.— 

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

22 making a determination or adjudicating a com23 plaint pursuant to this subsection, the Sec24 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

25 or a court may determine that a violation of 


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1 subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this sub2 section has occurred only if the complainant 

3 demonstrates that any conduct described in 

4 subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this sub5 section with respect to the complainant was a 

6 contributing factor in the adverse action alleged 

7 in the complaint. 

8 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding sub9 paragraph (A), a decision or order that is favor10 able to the complainant shall not be issued in 

11 any administrative or judicial action pursuant 

12 to this subsection if the respondent dem13 onstrates by clear and convincing evidence that 

14 the respondent would have taken the same ad15 verse action in the absence of such conduct. 

16 ‘‘(14) RELIEF.— 

17 ‘‘(A) ORDER FOR RELIEF.—If the Sec18 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

19 or a court determines that a covered employer 

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

21 of this subsection, the Secretary, administrative 

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

23 shall have jurisdiction to order all appropriate 

24 relief, including injunctive relief, and compen25 satory and exemplary damages, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) affirmative action to abate the 

2 violation; 

3 ‘‘(ii) reinstatement without loss of po4 sition or seniority, and restoration of the 

5 terms, rights, conditions, and privileges as6 sociated with the complainant’s employ7 ment, including opportunities for pro8 motions to positions with equivalent or bet9 ter compensation for which the complain10 ant is qualified; 

11 ‘‘(iii) compensatory and consequential 

12 damages sufficient to make the complain13 ant whole (including back pay, prejudg14 ment interest, and other damages); and 

15 ‘‘(iv) expungement of all warnings, 

16 reprimands, or derogatory references that 

17 have been placed in paper or electronic 

18 records or databases of any type relating 

19 to the actions by the complainant that 

20 gave rise to the unfavorable personnel ac21 tion, and, at the complainant’s direction, 

22 transmission of a copy of the decision on 

23 the complaint to any person whom the 

24 complainant reasonably believes may have 

25 received such unfavorable information. 


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

2 the Secretary or an administrative law judge, 

3 review board, or court grants an order for relief 

4 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, admin5 istrative law judge, review board, or court, re6 spectively, shall assess, at the request of the 

7 covered employee against the covered em8 ployer— 

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

10 ‘‘(ii) costs (including expert witness 

11 fees) reasonably incurred, as determined 

12 by the Secretary, administrative law judge, 

13 review board, or court, respectively, in con14 nection with bringing the complaint upon 

15 which the order was issued. 

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

17 remedies provided for in this subsection may not be 

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

19 of employment, including by any pre-dispute arbitra20 tion agreement or collective bargaining agreement. 

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

22 shall be construed to diminish the rights, privileges, 

23 or remedies of any covered employee who exercises 

24 rights under any Federal or State law or common 

25 law, or under any collective bargaining agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(17) ELECTION OF VENUE.— 

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

3 a covered employer who is located in a State 

4 that has a State plan approved under section 

5 18 may file a complaint alleging a violation of 

6 subsection (c)(1) or paragraph (2) of this sub7 section by such employer with— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Secretary under paragraph 

9 (5); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator in 

11 such State. 

12 ‘‘(B) REFERRALS.—If— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Secretary receives a complaint 

14 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), the Sec15 retary shall not refer such complaint to a 

16 State plan administrator for resolution; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator re18 ceives a complaint pursuant to subpara19 graph (A)(ii), the State plan administrator 

20 shall not refer such complaint to the Sec21 retary for resolution. 

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

23 Secretary shall apply an unrebuttable presumption 

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1 ployee suffers an adverse action within 90 days of 

2 the date on which the covered employee took any ac3 tion protected under subsection (c)(1) or raised any 

4 reasonable apprehension under paragraph (2) of this 

5 subsection. 

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

7 remedies provided for under this subsection supple8 ment, and do not supplant, the private right of ac9 tion under section 130 of the Protecting America’s 

10 Meatpacking Workers Act. 

11 ‘‘(20) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub12 section and subsection (c)— 

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

14 against’ includes reporting, or threatening to 

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

16 the suspected citizenship or immigration status 

17 of a covered employee, or of a family member 

18 of a covered employee, because the covered em19 ployee raises a concern about workplace health 

20 and safety practices or hazards; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the term ‘family member’, with re22 spect to the family member of a covered em23 ployee, means an individual who— 


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

2 by blood, adoption, marriage, or domestic 

3 partnership; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) is a significant other, parent, sib5 ling, child, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, 

6 cousin, grandparent, or grandchild of the 

7 covered employee.’’. 

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

9 such Act (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended by inserting be10 fore the period the following: ‘‘, including the history of 

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

12 SEC. 127. REGULATIONS TO RESTORE A COLUMN ON RE13 QUIRED RECORDS OF WORK-RELATED MUS14 CULOSKELETAL DISORDERS. 

15 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

17 matters pertaining to the proposed rule issued by the Sec18 retary on January 29, 2010, entitled ‘‘Occupational Injury 

19 and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements’’ (75 

20 Fed. Reg. 4728). 

21 SEC. 128. FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL OSHA INSPECTORS. 

22 Out of any amounts in the Treasury not otherwise 

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

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

25 remain available until expended for— 


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1 (1) the hiring of additional inspectors to carry 

2 out inspections under section 8 of the Occupational 

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

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

5 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

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

7 SEC. 129. OSHA REPORTING. 

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

9 term ‘‘pandemic’’ means a public health emergency de10 clared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to a pandemic. 

12 (b) REPORTING DURING A PANDEMIC.— 

13 (1) STANDARDIZED REPORTING.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish a standardized process for covered es16 tablishments to report, on a weekly basis during 

17 a pandemic, to the Secretary information re18 garding infections and deaths related to the 

19 pandemic. Such information shall include— 

20 (i) the number of employees on a 

21 weekly and cumulative basis that have con22 tracted the disease resulting in the pan23 demic; 

24 (ii) racial demographics of such em25 ployees; and 


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1 (iii) the employment status of such 

2 employees. 

3 (B) FORM AND PROCEDURES.— 

4 (i) COVID–19.—Not later than 7 

5 days after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary shall issue reporting 

7 procedures described in subparagraph (A), 

8 including forms for such procedures, for 

9 reporting the information described in such 

10 subparagraph during the pandemic with 

11 respect to COVID–19. 

12 (ii) FUTURE PANDEMICS.—Not later 

13 than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

14 this Act, or 7 days following a declaration 

15 of a pandemic other than COVID–19, 

16 whichever is sooner, the Secretary shall 

17 issue reporting procedures described in 

18 subparagraph (A), including forms for 

19 such procedures, for pandemics other than 

20 COVID–19. 

21 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

22 shall make the information reported under para23 graph (1) available to the public in a manner that 

24 facilitates public participation, including by making 


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1 such information available on its website in a man2 ner that maximizes public participation. 

3 (3) PRIVACY.—A covered establishment, in re4 porting information to the Secretary under para5 graph (1), may not claim confidential business infor6 mation or patient privacy, except that such an estab7 lishment may withhold the names of workers, as a 

8 basis to withhold information. 

9 (c) DISCLOSURES TO EMPLOYEES.—A covered estab10 lishment shall disclose to each employee or individual pro11 viding work for the employer, including any individual pro12 viding such work through a contract or subcontract, all 

13 chemicals used at the worksite where the employee or indi14 vidual provides such work. Such disclosure shall be pro15 vided to the employee or individual in the native language 

16 of the employee or individual. 

17 SEC. 130. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by the fail19 ure of a covered establishment to comply with the Occupa20 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et 

21 seq.), including any regulation promulgated pursuant to 

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

23 any district court of the United States having jurisdiction 

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1 troversy and without regard to the citizenship of the par2 ties, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction. 

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

4 any aggrieved person pursuant to this section, the person 

5 may recover equitable and legal relief (including compen6 satory and punitive damages), attorney’s fees (including 

7 expert fees), and costs of the action. 

8 (c) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—Any administra9 tive enforcement by the Secretary shall not preclude the 

10 relief afforded by this section or otherwise deprive a court 

11 of jurisdiction. 

12 SEC. 131. INJUNCTION PROCEEDINGS. 

13 Section 13 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

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

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

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

17 such employee) at a place of employment subject to 

18 enforcement under this subsection may uncondition19 ally intervene as a matter of right.’’; and 

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

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

22 this subsection shall extend to, and the district court 

23 shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate, any action, in24 action, or failure to act by the Secretary with re25 spect to an imminent danger regardless of whether 


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1 the Secretary, an inspector, or any other individual 

2 determines the existence or absence of an imminent 

3 danger.’’. 

4 Subtitle D—Savings Provision 

5 SEC. 136. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

6 Nothing in title shall be construed to diminish the 

7 rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee who exer8 cises rights under any Federal or State law or common 

9 law, or under any collective bargaining agreement. 

10 TITLE II—FARM SYSTEM 

11 REFORMS 

12 SEC. 201. EXPANDED MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING 

13 GRANTS. 

14 Section 764 of division N of the Consolidated Appro15 priations Act, 2021 (21 U.S.C. 473), is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

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

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

19 (ii), respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

20 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

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

22 and indenting appropriately; 

23 (C) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

24 (A) (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘To be eli25 gible’’ and inserting the following: 


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

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

3 (i) in the matter preceding subpara4 graph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking 

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

6 (ii) in subparagraph (A) (as so redes7 ignated)— 

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

9 operation’’; and 

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

11 (iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so redes12 ignated)— 

13 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

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

15 ‘‘seeking’’ and inserting ‘‘seek’’; and 

16 (II) in clause (ii) (as so redesig17 nated), by striking the period at the 

18 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (iv) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

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

22 place.’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF LABOR PEACE AGREE2 MENT.—In this subsection, the term ‘labor peace 

3 agreement’ means an agreement— 

4 ‘‘(A) between an employer and a labor or5 ganization that represents, or is actively seeking 

6 to represent, the employees of the employer; 

7 and 

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

9 organization agree that— 

10 ‘‘(i) the employer will not— 

11 ‘‘(I) hinder any effort of an em12 ployee to join a labor organization; or 

13 ‘‘(II) take any action that di14 rectly or indirectly indicates or implies 

15 any opposition to an employee joining 

16 a labor organization; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the labor organization agrees to 

18 refrain from picketing, work stoppages, or 

19 boycotts against the employer; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the employer provides the labor 

21 organization with employee contact infor22 mation, and facilitates or permits labor or23 ganization access to employees at the 

24 workplace, including facilitating or permit25 ting the labor organization to meet with 


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1 employees to discuss joining the labor or2 ganization; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) the employer shall, upon the re4 quest of the labor organization, recognize 

5 the labor organization as the bargaining 

6 representative of the employees if a major7 ity of the employees choose the labor orga8 nization as their bargaining representa9 tive.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (d)(2)— 

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

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

13 respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

14 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

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

16 indenting appropriately; 

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

18 so redesignated), by striking ‘‘recipient shall 

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

20 ‘‘(A) shall agree’’; 

21 (D) in subparagraph (A) (as so des22 ignated), in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by 

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

24 and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(B) shall not, for a period of 10 years fol2 lowing the date of receipt of the grant, sell a 

3 slaughter or processing facility to, or merge the 

4 slaughter or processing facility with, a packer 

5 that owns more than 10 percent of the market 

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

7 (3) in subsection (f)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘Of the funds’’ and insert9 ing the following: 

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

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

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

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

14 funds of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

15 there is appropriated to carry out this section 

16 $100,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2023 

17 through 2032.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. LOCAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PROGRAM. 

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

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

21 ‘‘fiscal year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter’’ and in22 serting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, and 

23 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. RESTORATION OF MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORI2 GIN LABELING FOR BEEF AND PORK; INCLU3 SION OF DAIRY PRODUCTS. 

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

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

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

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

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

9 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re10 designated) the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) BEEF.—The term ‘beef’ means meat pro12 duced from cattle (including veal).’’; 

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

14 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

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

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

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

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

19 lamb, ground pork,’’; 

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

21 at the end; 

22 (iv) in clause (xi), by striking the pe23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

25 ‘‘(xii) dairy products.’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(other than clause (xii) of that subpara3 graph)’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; 

4 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re5 designated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) DAIRY PRODUCT.—The term ‘dairy prod7 uct’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) fluid milk; 

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

10 cream cheese; 

11 ‘‘(C) yogurt; 

12 ‘‘(D) ice cream; 

13 ‘‘(E) butter; and 

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

15 (5) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as so re16 designated) the following: 

17 ‘‘(8) PORK.—The term ‘pork’ means meat pro18 duced from hogs.’’. 

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

20 282(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

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

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(5) DESIGNATION OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

24 FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS.— 


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

2 commodity that is a dairy product shall des3 ignate the origin of the covered commodity as— 

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

5 which the 1 or more dairy ingredients or 

6 dairy components of the covered com7 modity were produced, originated, or 

8 sourced; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) each country in which the cov10 ered commodity was processed. 

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

12 UNITED STATES.—With respect to a covered 

13 commodity that is a dairy product produced ex14 clusively in the United States, designation by a 

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

16 United States where the covered commodity 

17 was produced shall be sufficient to identify the 

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

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

20 1921. 

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

22 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)), is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘for slaugh24 ter’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of such poultry’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘under a poultry growing arrangeVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S270.IS S270

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1 ment, regardless of whether the poultry is owned by 

2 that person or another person’’; 

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

4 live poultry for delivery, in accord with another’s in5 structions, for slaughter’’ and inserting ‘‘or cares for 

6 live poultry in accordance with the instructions of 

7 another person’’; 

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

9 striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a pe10 riod; 

11 (4) in paragraph (10)— 

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

13 slaughtering it or selling it for slaughter by an14 other’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and in16 serting a period; and 

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

18 ‘‘(15) FORMULA PRICE.— 

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

20 price’ means any price term that establishes a 

21 base from which a purchase price is calculated 

22 on the basis of a price that will not be deter23 mined or reported until a date that is after the 

24 date on which the forward price is established. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘formula 

2 price’ does not include— 

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

4 base from which a purchase price is cal5 culated on the basis of a futures market 

6 price; or 

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

8 quality, grade, or other factors relating to 

9 the value of livestock or livestock products 

10 that are readily verifiable market factors 

11 and are outside the control of the packer. 

12 ‘‘(16) FORWARD CONTRACT.—The term ‘for13 ward contract’ means an oral or written contract for 

14 the purchase of livestock that provides for the deliv15 ery of the livestock to a packer at a date that is 

16 more than 7 days after the date on which the con17 tract is entered into, without regard to whether the 

18 contract is for— 

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

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

21 certain period of time.’’. 

22 SEC. 205. UNLAWFUL PRACTICES. 

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

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


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

2 and (g) as paragraphs (1) through (6) and (10), re3 spectively, and indenting appropriately; 

4 (2) by striking the section designation and all 

5 that follows through ‘‘It shall be’’ in the matter pre6 ceding paragraph (1) (as so redesignated) and in7 serting the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 202. UNLAWFUL ACTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (a)— 

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

12 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘to:’’ and in13 serting ‘‘to do any of the following:’’; 

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

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

16 place it appears and inserting a period; 

17 (C) in paragraph (6) (as so redesig18 nated)— 

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

20 ‘‘(A)’’; 

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

22 ‘‘(B)’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(C)’’; 


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

2 following: 

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

4 a forward contract that— 

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

6 that may be equated to a fixed dollar amount 

7 on the date on which the forward contract is 

8 entered into; 

9 ‘‘(B) is not offered for bid in an open, pub10 lic manner under which— 

11 ‘‘(i) buyers and sellers have the oppor12 tunity to participate in the bid; 

13 ‘‘(ii) more than 1 blind bid is solic14 ited; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) buyers and sellers may witness 

16 bids that are made and accepted; 

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

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

19 quantity in excess of— 

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

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

22 and 

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

24 livestock, a comparable quantity of that 


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1 type of livestock, as determined by the Sec2 retary. 

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

4 subsidiary, or through an arrangement that gives a 

5 packer operational, managerial, or supervisory con6 trol over the livestock, or over the farming operation 

7 that produces the livestock, to such an extent that 

8 the producer of the livestock is not materially par9 ticipating in the management of the operation with 

10 respect to the production of the livestock, except 

11 that this paragraph shall not apply to— 

12 ‘‘(A) an arrangement entered into not 

13 more than 7 business days before slaughter of 

14 the livestock by a packer, a person acting 

15 through the packer, or a person that directly or 

16 indirectly controls, or is controlled by or under 

17 common control with, the packer; 

18 ‘‘(B) a cooperative or entity owned by a co19 operative, if a majority of the ownership inter20 est in the cooperative is held by active coopera21 tive members that— 

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

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) provide the livestock to the coop25 erative for slaughter; 


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1 ‘‘(C) a packer that is not required to re2 port to the Secretary on each reporting day (as 

3 defined in section 212 of the Agricultural Mar4 keting Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635a)) informa5 tion on the price and quantity of livestock pur6 chased by the packer; or 

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

8 processing plant. 

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

10 is likely to adversely affect competition, regardless of 

11 whether there is a business justification for the ac12 tion.’’; and 

13 (E) in paragraph (10) (as so redesig14 nated), by striking ‘‘subdivision (a), (b), (c), 

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

16 through (9)’’; and 

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

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

19 PRACTICES AND DEVICES.—Acts by a packer, swine con20 tractor, or live poultry dealer that violate subsection (a)(1) 

21 include the following: 

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

23 livestock producer, swine production contract grow24 er, or poultry grower with which the packer, swine 

25 contractor, or live poultry dealer has a marketing or 


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1 delivery contract, the relevant statistical information 

2 and data used to determine the compensation paid 

3 to the livestock producer, swine production contract 

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

5 contract, including— 

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

7 pen; 

8 ‘‘(B) feed analysis; 

9 ‘‘(C) breeder history; 

10 ‘‘(D) quality grade; 

11 ‘‘(E) yield grade; and 

12 ‘‘(F) delivery volume for any certified 

13 branding program (such as programs for Angus 

14 beef or certified grassfed or Berkshire pork). 

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

16 to limit by contract the legal rights and remedies of 

17 a livestock producer, swine production contract 

18 grower, or poultry grower, including the right— 

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

20 producer, swine production contract grower, or 

21 poultry grower, as applicable, is voluntarily 

22 bound by an arbitration provision in a contract; 

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

24 applicable law; and 


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

2 if available under applicable law. 

3 ‘‘(3) Termination of a poultry growing arrange4 ment or swine production contract with no basis 

5 other than an allegation that the poultry grower or 

6 swine production contract grower failed to comply 

7 with an applicable law, rule, or regulation. 

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

9 that is likely to mislead a livestock producer, swine 

10 production contract grower, or poultry grower re11 garding a material condition or term in a contract 

12 or business transaction. 

13 ‘‘(c) UNDUE OR UNREASONABLE PREFERENCES, AD14 VANTAGES, PREJUDICES, AND DISADVANTAGES.— 

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

16 contractor, or live poultry dealer that violate sub17 section (a)(2) include the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) A retaliatory action (including coer19 cion or intimidation) or the threat of retaliatory 

20 action— 

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

22 termination, extension, or renewal of a 

23 contract or agreement with a livestock pro24 ducer, swine production contract grower, 

25 or poultry grower aimed to discourage the 


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1 exercise of the rights of the livestock pro2 ducer, swine production contract grower, 

3 or poultry grower under this Act or any 

4 other law; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in response to lawful communica6 tion (including as described in paragraph 

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

8 a livestock producer, swine production con9 tract grower, or poultry grower. 

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

11 poultry as described in paragraph (3). 

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

13 lawful communication referred to in paragraph 

14 (1)(A)(ii) includes— 

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

16 Federal agency or Members of Congress; 

17 ‘‘(B) any lawful disclosure that dem18 onstrates a reasonable belief of a violation of 

19 this Act or any other law; and 

20 ‘‘(C) any other communication that assists 

21 in carrying out the purposes of this Act. 

22 ‘‘(3) USE OF TOURNAMENT SYSTEM FOR POUL23 TRY.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), a live poultry dealer shall be in vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S270.IS S270

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1 lation of subsection (a)(2) if the live poultry 

2 dealer determines the formula for calculating 

3 the pay of a poultry grower in a tournament 

4 group by comparing the performance of the 

5 birds of other poultry growers in the group 

6 using factors outside the control of the poultry 

7 grower and within the control of the live poultry 

8 dealer. 

9 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Under subparagraph 

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

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

12 dealer demonstrates through clear and con13 vincing evidence that the inputs and services 

14 described in subparagraph (C) that were used 

15 in the comparative evaluation were substantially 

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

17 applicable, for all poultry growers in the tour18 nament group. 

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

20 The inputs and services referred to in subpara21 graph (B) include, with respect to poultry grow22 ers in the same tournament group— 

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

24 of chicks delivered to each poultry grower; 


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

2 flock from which chicks are drawn for each 

3 poultry grower; 

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

5 feed), and quantity of feed delivered to 

6 each poultry grower; 

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

8 medications for the birds of each poultry 

9 grower; 

10 ‘‘(v) the number of birds in a flock de11 livered to each poultry grower; 

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

13 birds for processing (including the age of 

14 the birds and the number of days that the 

15 birds are in the care of the poultry grower) 

16 for each poultry grower; 

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

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

19 processing plant for each poultry grower; 

20 ‘‘(viii) condemnations of parts of birds 

21 due to actions in processing for each poul22 try grower; 

23 ‘‘(ix) condemnations of whole birds 

24 due to the fault of the poultry grower; 


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

2 fault of the poultry grower; 

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

4 of the death losses and condemnations de5 scribed in clauses (vii) through (x); 

6 ‘‘(xii) the type and classification of 

7 each poultry grower; and 

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

9 may have an impact on feed conversion to 

10 weight gain efficiency or the life span of 

11 the birds of each poultry grower. 

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

13 determining whether an act, device, or conduct is a viola14 tion under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), a find15 ing that the act, device, or conduct adversely affected or 

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

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

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

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

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

22 of enactment of this Act. 

23 (2) TRANSITION RULES.—In the case of a pack24 er that, on the date of enactment of this Act, owns, 

25 feeds, or controls livestock intended for slaughter in 


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

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

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

4 shall take effect— 

5 (A) in the case of a packer of swine, begin6 ning on the date that is 18 months after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act; and 

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

9 type of livestock, beginning not later than 180 

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

11 determined by the Secretary. 

12 SEC. 206. SPOT MARKET PURCHASES OF LIVESTOCK BY 

13 PACKERS. 

14 The Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, is amended 

15 by inserting after section 202 (7 U.S.C. 192) the fol16 lowing: 

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

18 PACKERS. 

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

20 ‘‘(1) COVERED PACKER.— 

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

22 packer’ means a packer that is required under 

23 subtitle B of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

24 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635 et seq.) to report to the 

25 Secretary each reporting day information on the 


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1 price and quantity of livestock purchased by the 

2 packer. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘covered 

4 packer’ does not include a packer that owns 

5 only 1 livestock processing plant. 

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

7 ‘nonaffiliated producer’ means a producer of live8 stock— 

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

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

11 interest in the packer; 

12 ‘‘(C) that has no officers, directors, em13 ployees, or owners that are officers, directors, 

14 employees, or owners of the packer; 

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

16 the packer; and 

17 ‘‘(E) in which the packer has no equity in18 terest. 

19 ‘‘(3) SPOT MARKET SALE.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘spot mar21 ket sale’ means a purchase and sale of livestock 

22 by a packer from a producer— 

23 ‘‘(i) under an agreement that specifies 

24 a firm base price that may be equated with 


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1 a fixed dollar amount on the date the 

2 agreement is entered into; 

3 ‘‘(ii) under which the livestock are 

4 slaughtered not more than 7 days after the 

5 date on which the agreement is entered 

6 into; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) under circumstances in which a 

8 reasonable competitive bidding opportunity 

9 exists on the date on which the agreement 

10 is entered into. 

11 ‘‘(B) REASONABLE COMPETITIVE BIDDING

12 OPPORTUNITY.—For the purposes of subpara13 graph (A)(iii), a reasonable competitive bidding 

14 opportunity shall be considered to exist if— 

15 ‘‘(i) no written or oral agreement pre16 cludes the producer from soliciting or re17 ceiving bids from other packers; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) no circumstance, custom, or 

19 practice exists that— 

20 ‘‘(I) establishes the existence of 

21 an implied contract (as determined in 

22 accordance with the Uniform Com23 mercial Code); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) precludes the producer from 

2 soliciting or receiving bids from other 

3 packers. 

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

5 that is slaughtered by a covered packer during each re6 porting day in each plant, the covered packer shall slaugh7 ter not less than the applicable percentage specified in 

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

9 from nonaffiliated producers. 

10 ‘‘(c) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), the applicable percentage shall be 50 per13 cent. 

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

15 packer that reported to the Secretary in the 2018 

16 annual report that more than 60 percent of the live17 stock of the covered packer were committed procure18 ment livestock, the applicable percentage shall be the 

19 greater of— 

20 ‘‘(A) the difference between the percentage 

21 of committed procurement so reported and 100 

22 percent; and 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) during each of calendar years 2020 

24 and 2021, 20 percent; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) during each of calendar years 2022 

2 and 2023, 30 percent; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) during calendar year 2024 and each 

4 calendar year thereafter, 50 percent. 

5 ‘‘(d) NONPREEMPTION.—This section does not pre6 empt any requirement of a State or political subdivision 

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

8 the spot market a greater percentage of the livestock pur9 chased by the covered packer than is required under this 

10 section.’’. 

11 SEC. 207. INVESTIGATION OF LIVE POULTRY DEALERS. 

12 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY

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

14 205 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 

15 193, 194, 195), are amended by inserting ‘‘, live poultry 

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

17 (b) AUTHORITY TO REQUEST TEMPORARY INJUNC18 TION OR RESTRAINING ORDER.—Section 408(a) of the 

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

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

21 of poultry’’. 

22 (c) VIOLATIONS BY LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.—Sec23 tion 411 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 

24 U.S.C. 228b–2), is amended— 


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

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

3 of’’; and 

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

5 striking ‘‘any provisions of section 207 or section 

6 410’’ and inserting ‘‘any provision’’. 

7 SEC. 208. AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES. 

8 Section 204 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 

9 (7 U.S.C. 194), is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(i) ATTORNEY’S FEE.—The court shall award a rea12 sonable attorney’s fee as part of the costs to a prevailing 

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

14 SEC. 209. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

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

16 1921 (7 U.S.C. 193), is amended— 

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

18 (A) by striking ‘‘he shall cause’’ and in19 serting ‘‘the Secretary shall cause’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘the charges’’; 

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

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

24 he shall state his findings’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec25 retary shall make a report in writing in which the 


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

2 and 

3 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘he’’ and in4 serting ‘‘the Secretary’’. 

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

6 1921 (7 U.S.C. 194), is amended— 

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

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

9 swine contractor has the’’; 

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

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

12 officers, directors, agents, and employees of the 

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

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

15 (A) by striking ‘‘his findings’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘the findings of the Secretary’’; and 

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

18 Secretary’’; and 

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

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

21 officers, directors, agents, and employees of the 

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


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1 TITLE III—GAO REPORTS 

2 SEC. 301. REVIEW AND REPORT ON FRAGILITY AND NA3 TIONAL SECURITY IN THE FOOD SYSTEM. 

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

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

6 of the United States shall carry out, and submit to Con7 gress a report containing, a review of the fragility of the 

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

9 poultry. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under subsection 

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

12 (1) the reach of corporate consolidation and 

13 corporate control of the meat and poultry supply 

14 chain, including animal feed, inputs for animal feed, 

15 processing, and distribution; 

16 (2) the effects of corporate consolidation and 

17 corporate control of the meat and poultry supply 

18 chain on— 

19 (A) consumers, farmers, rural commu20 nities, and meat and poultry processing work21 ers; 

22 (B) greenhouse gas emissions, climate 

23 change, and costs borne by communities to 

24 adapt to climate change; 


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

2 and biodiversity; and 

3 (D) politics and political lobbying; 

4 (3)(A) the extent to which Department of Agri5 culture rules and regulations designed for large cov6 ered establishments are applied to small- and me7 dium-sized covered establishments; and 

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

9 adapt rules and regulations to benefit small- and 

10 medium-sized covered establishments; 

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

12 meat and poultry exports, meat and poultry cold 

13 storage inventories, processing rates of meat and 

14 poultry, and the net profits earned by owners of cov15 ered establishments; 

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

17 meat and poultry prices paid— 

18 (A) to farmers; and 

19 (B) by consumers; 

20 (6) Federal support for the corporations that 

21 control the largest percentage of the meat and poul22 try industry through contracts, procurement, sub23 sidies, and other mechanisms; 

24 (7) the risk of disruption caused by corporate 

25 consolidation among covered establishments, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Feb 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S270.IS S270

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1 ing an analysis of food supply chain issues resulting 

2 from the COVID–19 pandemic; and 

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

4 packing oligopoly would increase food system resil5 iency for the next pandemic. 

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

7 DISPARITIES IN MEAT AND POULTRY PROC8 ESSING. 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

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

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

12 and ethnic disparities in the meat and poultry processing 

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

14 following: 

15 (1) The impacts of working in covered estab16 lishments to individuals working at such establish17 ments who are employees, temporary workers, incar18 cerated workers, noncitizen workers admitted to the 

19 United States as nonimmigrants described in section 

20 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of the Immigration and Nation21 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b)) or as ref22 ugees under section 207 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 

23 1157), or noncitizen workers who are not lawfully 

24 present in the United States. Such review shall in25 clude a review of— 


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1 (A) workplace injuries, including repetitive 

2 musculoskeletal injuries, of such individuals; 

3 (B) psychological and mental health condi4 tions of such individuals; 

5 (C) exposure of such individuals to chemi6 cals or other potential carcinogens and repro7 ductive toxins; 

8 (D) any physical or mental abuse, includ9 ing sexual harassment, of such individuals by 

10 co-workers or managers; 

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

12 for such individuals; 

13 (F) the extent to which such individuals 

14 are unable to seek appropriate relief for work15 place injuries, abuse, and protection from expo16 sure to SARS–CoV–2 during the COVID–19 

17 emergency for fear of retaliation; and 

18 (G) COVID–19 deaths and illnesses of 

19 such individuals, including the short- and long20 term effects of COVID–19 for such individuals. 

21 (2) The racial demographics and use of tem22 porary workers to outsource the responsibility of 

23 covered establishments to provide a safe workplace. 


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1 (3) The racial demographics and use of incar2 cerated workers in covered establishments, includ3 ing— 

4 (A) the extent to which such workers have 

5 a choice in working at covered establishments; 

6 (B) the use of such workers to outsource 

7 the responsibility of covered establishments to 

8 provide a safe workplace; 

9 (C) the use of such workers to outsource 

10 the responsibility of covered establishments to 

11 provide fair compensation; and 

12 (D) the use of such workers by covered es13 tablishments to externalize employee cost. 

14 (4) The racial demographics and use of noncit15 izen workers admitted to the United States as non16 immigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) 

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

18 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b)) or as refugees under section 

19 207 of that Act (8 U.S.C. 1157) at covered estab20 lishments, including— 

21 (A) the extent to which predatory prac22 tices, such as limiting the ability of such work23 ers to choose and move between competing or24 ganizations, are utilized by covered establish25 ments with respect to such workers; 


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1 (B) the extent to which such workers are 

2 unable to speak out for fear of retaliation; and 

3 (C) the extent to which there is full trans4 parency about the nature of employment of 

5 such workers prior to being hired. 

6 (5) The racial demographics and use of noncit7 izen workers who are not lawfully present in the 

8 United States at covered establishments, including— 

9 (A) the extent to which such workers are 

10 unable to speak out for fear of retaliation; and 

11 (B) whether any collusion between Federal 

12 immigration offices and covered establishments 

13 have the effect of intimidating and silencing 

14 such workers. 

15 SEC. 303. GAO REPORT ON LINE SPEEDS. 

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

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

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

19 report containing, a review of the actions taken by the Sec20 retary, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of 

21 Health and Human Services in response to the COVID– 

22 19 pandemic to determine the effectiveness of those ac23 tions in protecting animal, food, and worker safety. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The review carried out under sub2 section (a) shall include information on, and an analysis 

3 of, with respect to covered establishments— 

4 (1) all policies and regulations relating to in5 spection of those establishments that have been im6 plemented by the Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, 

7 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

8 during the COVID–19 emergency and the covered 

9 period; 

10 (2) the pandemic emergency preparedness plans 

11 of those establishments; 

12 (3) the extent to which those establishments 

13 have implemented guidance and recommendations to 

14 space workers 6 feet apart on production lines and 

15 in break rooms, locker rooms, and all other work16 spaces; 

17 (4) the extent to which those establishments 

18 maintain policies and procedures that discourage 

19 workers from reporting exposure, seeking treatment, 

20 or remaining in isolation, including— 

21 (A) bonus or work incentive programs; and 

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

23 pay of a worker; 

24 (5) the extent to which those establishments 

25 provide communications and training about COVID– 


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1 19 in a language and at a literacy level workers un2 derstand; 

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

4 and personal protective equipment, such as face 

5 shields and respirators, made available to workers at 

6 those establishments; 

7 (B) whether the face masks and personal pro8 tective equipment are provided to the workers free of 

9 charge; and 

10 (C) usage of the face masks and personal pro11 tective equipment by the workers; 

12 (7) any guidance provided to inspectors of those 

13 establishments by the Secretary, the Secretary of 

14 Labor, or the Secretary of Health and Human Serv15 ices during the COVID–19 emergency; 

16 (8) actions taken by the Secretary, the Sec17 retary of Labor, and the Secretary of Health and 

18 Human Services to protect workers, animals, and 

19 food at establishments that have reported cases of 

20 COVID–19; 

21 (9) all humane handling reports issued, and en22 forcement actions taken, by the Secretary during the 

23 COVID–19 emergency pursuant to— 


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

2 as the ‘‘Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 

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

4 (B) good commercial practices regulations 

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

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

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

10 (11) any instance of interference by a Federal 

11 agency with the contents of any report of findings 

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

16 (12) any instance of interference by a Federal 

17 agency with the recommended actions of a State or 

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

Æ 


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