I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 190 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide rights for victims or their family members, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2011 

Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, and Ms. 

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

A BILL 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections 

for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity 

violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide 

rights for victims or their family members, 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 Workers Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES AND APPLICATION 

OF ACT 

Sec. 101. Coverage of public employees. 

Sec. 102. Application of Act. 

TITLE II—INCREASING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 201. Enhanced protections from retaliation. 

TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORTING, INSPECTION, AND 

ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 301. Posting of employee rights. 

Sec. 302. Employer reporting of work-related deaths and hospitalizations and 

prohibition on discouraging employee reports of injury or illness. 

Sec. 303. No loss of employee pay for inspections. 

Sec. 304. Investigations of fatalities and significant incidents. 

Sec. 305. Prohibition on unclassified citations. 

Sec. 306. Victims’ rights. 

Sec. 307. Right to contest citations and penalties. 

Sec. 308. Correction of serious, willful, or repeated violations pending contest 

and procedures for a stay. 

Sec. 309. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 310. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 311. Criminal penalties. 

Sec. 312. Prejudgment interest. 

TITLE IV—STATE PLANS 

Sec. 401. Concurrent enforcement authority and review of State occupational 

safety and health plans. 

TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

AND HEALTH 

Sec. 501. Health Hazard Evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 601. Effective date. 


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1 TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC 

2 EMPLOYEES AND APPLICA3 TION OF ACT 

4 SEC. 101. COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(5) of the Occupational 

6 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652(5)) is 

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

8 follows through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘in9 cluding the United States, a State, or a political subdivi10 sion of a State.’’. 

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

12 construed to affect the application of section 18 of the Oc13 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

14 667). 

15 SEC. 102. APPLICATION OF ACT. 

16 Section 4(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

17 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1)) is amended— 

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

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

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

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(1) If a Federal agency has promulgated and is en23 forcing a standard or regulation affecting occupational 

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

25 that agency’s regulatory jurisdiction, and the Secretary 


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1 determines that such a standard or regulation as promul2 gated and the manner in which the standard or regulation 

3 is being enforced provides protection to those employees 

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

5 those employees by this Act and the Secretary’s enforce6 ment of this Act, the Secretary may publish a certification 

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

8 that determination and the reasons for the determination 

9 and certify that the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to 

10 that Federal agency with respect to the specified standard 

11 or regulation affecting occupational safety or health. In 

12 determining whether to cede jurisdiction to a Federal 

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

14 and conflicts between, health and safety requirements. 

15 Such certification shall remain in effect unless and until 

16 rescinded by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish pro18 cedures by which any person who may be adversely af19 fected by a decision of the Secretary certifying that the 

20 Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Federal agency 

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

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

23 receipt of such a petition, the Secretary shall investigate 

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


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1 of the petition, publish a decision with respect to the peti2 tion in the Federal Register. 

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

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

5 the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Fed6 eral agency pursuant to paragraph (1); or 

7 ‘‘(B) a decision of the Secretary denying a peti8 tion to rescind such a certification notice under 

9 paragraph (1), 

10 may, not later than 60 days after such decision is pub11 lished in the Federal Register, file a petition challenging 

12 such decision with the United States court of appeals for 

13 the circuit in which such person resides or such person 

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

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

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

17 Secretary’s decision shall be set aside if found to be arbi18 trary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not 

19 in accordance with law. 

20 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to working condi21 tions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

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


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1 TITLE II—INCREASING 

2 WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS 

3 SEC. 201. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FROM RETALIATION. 

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

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

6 660(c)(1)) is amended— 

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

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

9 ‘‘discharge or cause to be discharged, or in any man10 ner discriminate against or cause to be discriminated 

11 against, any employee because— 

12 ‘‘(A) such’’; 

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

14 the following: ‘‘this Act; 

15 ‘‘(B) such employee has’’; 

16 (3) by striking ‘‘in any such proceeding or be17 cause of the exercise’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘before Congress or in any Federal or State pro19 ceeding related to safety or health; 

20 ‘‘(C) such employee has refused to violate any 

21 provision of this Act; or 

22 ‘‘(D) of the exercise’’; and 

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

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

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


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1 the employer, safety and health committee involved, 

2 or employee safety and health representative in3 volved’’. 

4 (b) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATION.—Section 11(c) 

5 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by striking 

6 paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATION.—(A) No 

8 person shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, or 

9 in any manner discriminate against, or cause to be 

10 discriminated against, an employee for refusing to 

11 perform the employee’s duties if the employee has a 

12 reasonable apprehension that performing such duties 

13 would result in serious injury to, or serious impair14 ment of the health of, the employee or other employ15 ees. 

16 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 

17 circumstances causing the employee’s good-faith be18 lief that performing such duties would pose a safety 

19 or health hazard shall be of such a nature that a 

20 reasonable person, under the circumstances con21 fronting the employee, would conclude that there is 

22 such a hazard. In order to qualify for protection 

23 under this paragraph, the employee, when prac24 ticable, shall have communicated or attempted to 

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1 ployer and have not received from the employer a re2 sponse reasonably calculated to allay such concern.’’. 

3 (c) PROCEDURE.—Section 11(c) of such Act (29 

4 U.S.C. 660(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and 

5 inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) COMPLAINT.—Any employee who believes 

7 that the employee has been discharged, disciplined, 

8 or otherwise discriminated against by any person in 

9 violation of paragraph (1) or (2) may seek relief for 

10 such violation by filing a complaint with the Sec11 retary under paragraph (5). 

12 ‘‘(4) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee may take 

14 the action permitted by paragraph (3)(A) not 

15 later than 180 days after the later of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the date on which an alleged vio17 lation of paragraph (1) or (2) occurs; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the employee 

19 knows or should reasonably have known 

20 that such alleged violation occurred. 

21 ‘‘(B) REPEAT VIOLATION.—Except in 

22 cases when the employee has been discharged, 

23 a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) shall be con24 sidered to have occurred on the last date an al25 leged repeat violation occurred. 


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1 ‘‘(5) INVESTIGATION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee may, 

3 within the time period required under para4 graph (4)(B), file a complaint with the Sec5 retary alleging a violation of paragraph (1) or 

6 (2). If the complaint alleges a prima facie case, 

7 the Secretary shall conduct an investigation of 

8 the allegations 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, the Secretary 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) determine whether reasonable 

11 cause exists to believe that a violation of 

12 paragraph (1) or (2) has occurred; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) issue a decision granting or de14 nying relief. 

15 ‘‘(6) PRELIMINARY ORDER FOLLOWING INVES16 TIGATION.—If, after completion of an investigation 

17 under paragraph (5)(A), the Secretary finds reason18 able cause to believe that a violation of paragraph 

19 (1) or (2) has occurred, the Secretary shall issue a 

20 preliminary order providing relief authorized under 

21 paragraph (14) at the same time the Secretary 

22 issues a decision under paragraph (5)(B). If a de 

23 novo hearing is not requested within the time period 

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1 nary order shall be deemed a final order of the Sec2 retary and is not subject to judicial review. 

3 ‘‘(7) HEARING.— 

4 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR HEARING.— 

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

6 on the record before an administrative law 

7 judge may be requested— 

8 ‘‘(I) by the complainant or re9 spondent within 30 days after receiv10 ing notification of a decision granting 

11 or denying relief issued under para12 graph (5)(B) or paragraph (6) respec13 tively; 

14 ‘‘(II) by the complainant within 

15 30 days after the date the complaint 

16 is dismissed without investigation by 

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

18 or 

19 ‘‘(III) by the complainant within 

20 120 days after the date of filing the 

21 complaint, if the Secretary has not 

22 issued a decision under paragraph 

23 (5)(B). 

24 ‘‘(ii) REINSTATEMENT ORDER.—The 

25 request for a hearing shall not operate to 


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1 stay any preliminary reinstatement order 

2 issued under paragraph (6). 

3 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A hearing re5 quested under this paragraph shall be con6 ducted expeditiously and in accordance 

7 with rules established by the Secretary for 

8 hearings conducted by administrative law 

9 judges. 

10 ‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS; PRODUCTION OF

11 EVIDENCE.—In conducting any such hear12 ing, the administrative law judge may issue 

13 subpoenas. The respondent or complainant 

14 may request the issuance of subpoenas 

15 that require the deposition of, or the at16 tendance and testimony of, witnesses and 

17 the production of any evidence (including 

18 any books, papers, documents, or record19 ings) relating to the matter under consid20 eration. 

21 ‘‘(iii) DECISION.—The administrative 

22 law judge shall issue a decision not later 

23 than 90 days after the date on which a 

24 hearing was requested under this para25 graph and promptly notify, in writing, the 


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1 parties and the Secretary of such decision, 

2 including the findings of fact and conclu3 sions of law. If the administrative law 

4 judge finds that a violation of paragraph 

5 (1) or (2) has occurred, the judge shall 

6 issue an order for relief under paragraph 

7 (14). If review under paragraph (8) is not 

8 timely requested, such order shall be 

9 deemed a final order of the Secretary that 

10 is not subject to judicial review. 

11 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.— 

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

13 days after the date of notification of a decision 

14 and order issued by an administrative law judge 

15 under paragraph (7), the complainant or re16 spondent may file, with objections, an adminis17 trative appeal with an administrative review 

18 body designated by the Secretary (referred to in 

19 this paragraph as the ‘review board’). 

20 ‘‘(B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In review21 ing the decision and order of the administrative 

22 law judge, the review board shall affirm the de23 cision and order if it is determined that the fac24 tual findings set forth therein are supported by 


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1 substantial evidence and the decision and order 

2 are made in accordance with applicable law. 

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

4 grants an administrative appeal, the review 

5 board shall issue a final decision and order af6 firming or reversing, in whole or in part, the 

7 decision under review by not later than 90 days 

8 after receipt of the administrative appeal. If it 

9 is determined that a violation of paragraph (1) 

10 or (2) has occurred, the review board shall issue 

11 a final decision and order providing relief au12 thorized under paragraph (14). Such decision 

13 and order shall constitute final agency action 

14 with respect to the matter appealed. 

15 ‘‘(9) SETTLEMENT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE

16 PROCESS.— 

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

18 issuance of a final order, an investigation or 

19 proceeding under this subsection may be termi20 nated on the basis of a settlement agreement 

21 entered into by the parties. 

22 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.— 

23 Neither the Secretary, an administrative law 

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1 ment that contains conditions conflicting with 

2 the rights protected under this Act or that are 

3 contrary to public policy, including a restriction 

4 on a complainant’s right to future employment 

5 with employers other than the specific employ6 ers named in a complaint. 

7 ‘‘(10) INACTION BY THE REVIEW BOARD OR AD8 MINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.— 

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

10 bring a de novo action described in subpara11 graph (B) if— 

12 ‘‘(i) an administrative law judge has 

13 not issued a decision and order within the 

14 90-day time period required under para15 graph (7)(B)(iii); or 

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

17 a decision and order within the 90-day 

18 time period required under paragraph 

19 (8)(C). 

20 ‘‘(B) DE NOVO ACTION.—Such de novo ac21 tion may be brought at law or equity in the 

22 United States district court for the district 

23 where a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) alleg24 edly occurred or where the complainant resided 

25 on the date of such alleged violation. The court 


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1 shall have jurisdiction over such action without 

2 regard to the amount in controversy and to 

3 order appropriate relief under paragraph (14). 

4 Such action shall, at the request of either party 

5 to such action, be tried by the court with a 

6 jury. 

7 ‘‘(11) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

8 ‘‘(A) TIMELY APPEAL TO THE COURT OF

9 APPEALS.—Any party adversely affected or ag10 grieved by a final decision and order issued 

11 under this subsection may obtain review of such 

12 decision and order in the United States Court 

13 of Appeals for the circuit where the violation, 

14 with respect to which such final decision and 

15 order was issued, allegedly occurred or where 

16 the complainant resided on the date of such al17 leged violation. To obtain such review, a party 

18 shall file a petition for review not later than 60 

19 days after the final decision and order was 

20 issued. Such review shall conform to chapter 7 

21 of title 5, United States Code. The commence22 ment of proceedings under this subparagraph 

23 shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate 

24 as a stay of the final decision and order. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT2 TACK.—An order and decision with respect to 

3 which review may be obtained under subpara4 graph (A) shall not be subject to judicial review 

5 in any criminal or other civil proceeding. 

6 ‘‘(12) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—If a re7 spondent fails to comply with an order issued under 

8 this subsection, the Secretary or the complainant on 

9 whose behalf the order was issued may file a civil ac10 tion for enforcement in the United States district 

11 court for the district in which the violation was 

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

13 Secretary and the complainant file such action, the 

14 action of the Secretary shall take precedence. The 

15 district court shall have jurisdiction to grant all ap16 propriate relief described in paragraph (14). 

17 ‘‘(13) BURDENS OF PROOF.— 

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

19 making a determination or adjudicating a com20 plaint pursuant to this subsection, the Sec21 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

22 or a court may determine that a violation of 

23 paragraph (1) or (2) has occurred only if the 

24 complainant demonstrates that any conduct de25 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2) with respect to 


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1 the complainant was a contributing factor in 

2 the adverse action alleged in the complaint. 

3 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding sub4 paragraph (A), a decision or order that is favor5 able to the complainant shall not be issued in 

6 any administrative or judicial action pursuant 

7 to this subsection if the respondent dem8 onstrates by clear and convincing evidence that 

9 the respondent would have taken the same ad10 verse action in the absence of such conduct. 

11 ‘‘(14) RELIEF.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ORDER FOR RELIEF.—If the Sec13 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

14 or a court determines that a violation of para15 graph (1) or (2) has occurred, the Secretary or 

16 court, respectively, shall have jurisdiction to 

17 order all appropriate relief, including injunctive 

18 relief, compensatory and exemplary damages, 

19 including— 

20 ‘‘(i) affirmative action to abate the 

21 violation; 

22 ‘‘(ii) reinstatement without loss of po23 sition or seniority, and restoration of the 

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1 ment, including opportunities for pro2 motions to positions with equivalent or bet3 ter compensation for which the complain4 ant is qualified; 

5 ‘‘(iii) compensatory and consequential 

6 damages sufficient to make the complain7 ant whole, (including back pay, prejudg8 ment interest, and other damages); and 

9 ‘‘(iv) expungement of all warnings, 

10 reprimands, or derogatory references that 

11 have been placed in paper or electronic 

12 records or databases of any type relating 

13 to the actions by the complainant that 

14 gave rise to the unfavorable personnel ac15 tion, and, at the complainant’s direction, 

16 transmission of a copy of the decision on 

17 the complaint to any person whom the 

18 complainant reasonably believes may have 

19 received such unfavorable information. 

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

21 the Secretary or an administrative law judge, 

22 review board, or court grants an order for relief 

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1 spectively, shall assess, at the request of the 

2 employee against the employer— 

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

4 ‘‘(ii) costs (including expert witness 

5 fees) reasonably incurred, as determined 

6 by the Secretary, administrative law judge, 

7 review board, or court, respectively, in con8 nection with bringing the complaint upon 

9 which the order was issued. 

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

11 remedies provided for in this subsection may not be 

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

13 of employment, including by any pre-dispute arbitra14 tion agreement or collective bargaining agreement. 

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

16 shall be construed to diminish the rights, privileges, 

17 or remedies of any employee who exercises rights 

18 under any Federal or State law or common law, or 

19 under any collective bargaining agreement. 

20 ‘‘(17) ELECTION OF VENUE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee of an 

22 employer who is located in a State that has a 

23 State plan approved under section 18 may file 

24 a complaint alleging a violation of paragraph 

25 (1) or (2) by such employer with— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary under paragraph 

2 (5); or 

3 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator in 

4 such State. 

5 ‘‘(B) REFERRALS.—If— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Secretary receives a complaint 

7 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), the Sec8 retary shall not refer such complaint to a 

9 State plan administrator for resolution; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator re11 ceives a complaint pursuant to subpara12 graph (A)(ii), the State plan administrator 

13 shall not refer such complaint to the Sec14 retary for resolution.’’. 

15 (d) RELATION TO ENFORCEMENT.—Section 17(j) of 

16 such Act (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended by inserting be17 fore the period the following: ‘‘, including the history of 

18 violations under section 11(c)’’. 

19 TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORT20 ING, INSPECTION, AND EN21 FORCEMENT 

22 SEC. 301. POSTING OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. 

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

24 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such regu25 lations shall include provisions requiring employers to post 


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1 for employees information on the protections afforded 

2 under section 11(c).’’. 

3 SEC. 302. EMPLOYER REPORTING OF WORK-RELATED 

4 DEATHS AND HOSPITALIZATIONS AND PROHI5 BITION ON DISCOURAGING EMPLOYEE RE6 PORTS OF INJURY OR ILLNESS. 

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

8 adding at the end the following new sentences: ‘‘Such reg9 ulations shall require employers to promptly notify the 

10 Secretary of any work-related death or work-related injury 

11 or illness that results in the in-patient hospitalization of 

12 an employee for medical treatment. Such regulations shall 

13 also prohibit the employer from adopting or implementing 

14 policies or practices by the employer that have the effect 

15 of discouraging accurate recordkeeping and the reporting 

16 of work-related injuries or illnesses by any employee or 

17 in any manner discriminates or provides for adverse action 

18 against any employee for reporting a work-related injury 

19 or illness.’’ 

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

21 Section 8(e) (29 U.S.C. 657(e)) is amended by insert22 ing after the first sentence the following: ‘‘Time spent by 

23 an employee participating in or aiding any such inspection 

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

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1 ditions of employment for having participated in or aided 

2 any such inspection.’’. 

3 SEC. 304. INVESTIGATIONS OF FATALITIES AND SIGNIFI4 CANT INCIDENTS. 

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

6 the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(i) INVESTIGATION OF FATALITIES AND SERIOUS

8 INCIDENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall investigate 

10 any significant incident or an incident resulting in death 

11 that occurs in a place of employment. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE MEASURES.—If a significant inci13 dent or an incident resulting in death occurs in a place 

14 of employment, the employer shall promptly notify the 

15 Secretary of the incident involved and shall take appro16 priate measures to prevent the destruction or alteration 

17 of any evidence that would assist in investigating the inci18 dent. The appropriate measures required by this para19 graph do not prevent an employer from taking action on 

20 a worksite to prevent injury to employees or substantial 

21 damage to property or to avoid disruption of essential 

22 services necessary to public safety. If an employer takes 

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

24 action in a timely fashion. 

25 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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

2 term ‘incident resulting in death’ means an incident 

3 that results in the death of an employee. 

4 ‘‘(B) SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT.—The term ‘sig5 nificant incident’ means an incident that results in 

6 the in-patient hospitalization of 2 or more employees 

7 for medical treatment.’’. 

8 SEC. 305. PROHIBITION ON UNCLASSIFIED CITATIONS. 

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

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(d) No citation for a violation of this Act may be 

12 issued, modified, or settled under this section without a 

13 designation enumerated in section 17 with respect to such 

14 violation.’’. 

15 SEC. 306. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

16 The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is 

17 amended by inserting after section 9 (29 U.S.C. 658) the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 9A. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS BEFORE THE SECRETARY.—A victim or 

21 the representative of a victim, shall be afforded the right, 

22 with respect to an inspection or investigation conducted 

23 under section 8 to— 

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1 tion before the Secretary’s decision to issue a cita2 tion or take no action; 

3 ‘‘(2) receive, at no cost, a copy of any citation 

4 or report, issued as a result of such inspection or in5 vestigation, at the same time as the employer re6 ceives such citation or report; 

7 ‘‘(3) be informed of any notice of contest or ad8 dition of parties to the proceedings filed under sec9 tion 10(c); and 

10 ‘‘(4) be provided notification of the date and 

11 time or any proceedings, service of pleadings, and 

12 other relevant documents, and an explanation of the 

13 rights of the employer, employee and employee rep14 resentative, and victim to participate in proceedings 

15 conducted under section 10(c). 

16 ‘‘(b) RIGHTS BEFORE THE COMMISSION.—Upon re17 quest, a victim or representative of a victim shall be af18 forded the right with respect to a work-related bodily in19 jury or death to— 

20 ‘‘(1) be notified of the time and date of any 

21 proceeding before the Commission; 

22 ‘‘(2) receive pleadings and any decisions relat23 ing to the proceedings; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) be provided an opportunity to appear and 

2 make a statement in accordance with the rules pre3 scribed by the Commission. 

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

5 into an agreement to withdraw or modify a citation issued 

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

7 under section 8, the Secretary shall notify a victim or rep8 resentative of a victim and provide the victim or represent9 ative of a victim with an opportunity to appear and make 

10 a statement before the parties conducting settlement nego11 tiations. In lieu of an appearance, the victim or represent12 ative of the victim may elect to submit a letter to the Sec13 retary and the parties. 

14 ‘‘(d) SECRETARY PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

15 establish procedures— 

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

17 section; and 

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

19 denial of such a right. 

20 ‘‘(e) COMMISSION PROCEDURES AND CONSIDER21 ATIONS.—The Commission shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) establish procedures relating to the rights 

23 of victims to be heard in proceedings before the 

24 Commission; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) in rendering any decision, provide due con2 sideration to any statement or information provided 

3 by any victim before the Commission. 

4 ‘‘(f) FAMILY LIAISONS.—The Secretary shall des5 ignate at least 1 employee at each area office of the Occu6 pational Safety and Health Administration to serve as a 

7 family liaison to— 

8 ‘‘(1) keep victims informed of the status of in9 vestigations, enforcement actions, and settlement ne10 gotiations; and 

11 ‘‘(2) assist victims in asserting their rights 

12 under this section. 

13 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘victim’ 

14 means— 

15 ‘‘(1) an employee, including a former employee, 

16 who has sustained a work-related injury or illness 

17 that is the subject of an inspection or investigation 

18 conducted under section 8; or 

19 ‘‘(2) a family member (as further defined by 

20 the Secretary) of a victim described in paragraph 

21 (1), if— 

22 ‘‘(A) the victim dies as a result of a inci23 dent that is the subject of an inspection or in24 vestigation conducted under section 8; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) the victim sustains a work-related in2 jury or illness that is the subject of an inspec3 tion or investigation conducted under section 8, 

4 and the victim because of incapacity cannot rea5 sonably exercise the rights under this section.’’. 

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

7 Section 10(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

8 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659(c)) is amended— 

9 (1) in the first sentence— 

10 (A) by inserting after ‘‘that he intends to 

11 contest a citation issued under section (9)’’ the 

12 following: ‘‘(or a modification of a citation 

13 issued under this section)’’; 

14 (B) by inserting after ‘‘the issuance of a 

15 citation under section 9’’ the following: ‘‘(in16 cluding a modification of a citation issued 

17 under such section)’’; and 

18 (C) by inserting after ‘‘files a notice with 

19 the Secretary alleging’’ the following: ‘‘that the 

20 citation fails properly to designate the violation 

21 as serious, willful, or repeated, that the pro22 posed penalty is not adequate, or’’; 

23 (2) by inserting after the first sentence, the fol24 lowing: ‘‘The pendency of a contest before the Com25 mission shall not bar the Secretary from inspecting 


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1 a place of employment or from issuing a citation 

2 under section 9.’’; and 

3 (3) by amending the last sentence— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘employers and’’ after 

5 ‘‘Commission shall provide’’; and 

6 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

7 end ‘‘, and notification of any modification of a 

8 citation’’. 

9 SEC. 308. CORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR RE10 PEATED VIOLATIONS PENDING CONTEST AND 

11 PROCEDURES FOR A STAY. 

12 Section 10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

13 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659) is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(d) CORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR RE16 PEATED VIOLATIONS PENDING CONTEST AND PROCE17 DURES FOR A STAY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PERIOD PERMITTED FOR CORRECTION OF

19 SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR REPEATED VIOLATIONS.— 

20 For each violation which the Secretary designates as 

21 serious, willful, or repeated, the period permitted for 

22 the correction of the violation shall begin to run 

23 upon receipt of the citation. 

24 ‘‘(2) FILING OF A MOTION OF CONTEST.—The 

25 filing of a notice of contest by an employer— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall not operate as a stay of the pe2 riod for correction of a violation designated as 

3 serious, willful, or repeated; and 

4 ‘‘(B) may operate as a stay of the period 

5 for correction of a violation not designated by 

6 the Secretary as serious, willful, or repeated. 

7 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA AND RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR

8 STAYS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) MOTION FOR A STAY.—An employer 

10 that receives a citation alleging a violation des11 ignated as serious, willful, or repeated and that 

12 files a notice of contest to the citation asserting 

13 that the time set for abatement of the alleged 

14 violation is unreasonable or challenging the ex15 istence of the alleged violation may file with the 

16 Commission a motion to stay the period for the 

17 abatement of the violation. 

18 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In determining whether 

19 a stay should be issued on the basis of a motion 

20 filed under subparagraph (A), the Commission 

21 may grant a stay only if the employer has dem22 onstrated— 

23 ‘‘(i) a substantial likelihood of success 

24 on the areas contested under subparagraph 

25 (A); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that a stay will not adversely af2 fect the health and safety of workers. 

3 ‘‘(C) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Com4 mission shall develop rules of procedure for con5 ducting a hearing on a motion filed under sub6 paragraph (A) on an expedited basis. At a min7 imum, such rules shall provide: 

8 ‘‘(i) That a hearing before an admin9 istrative law judge shall occur not later 

10 than 15 days following the filing of the 

11 motion for a stay (unless extended at the 

12 request of the employer), and shall provide 

13 for a decision on the motion not later than 

14 15 days following the hearing (unless ex15 tended at the request of the employer). 

16 ‘‘(ii) That a decision of an administra17 tive law judge on a motion for stay is ren18 dered on a timely basis. 

19 ‘‘(iii) That if a party is aggrieved by 

20 a decision issued by an administrative law 

21 judge regarding the stay, such party has 

22 the right to file an objection with the Com23 mission not later than 5 days after receipt 

24 of the administrative law judge’s decision. 

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1 tion, a Commissioner, if a quorum is seat2 ed pursuant to section 12(f), shall decide 

3 whether to grant review of the objection. 

4 If, within 10 days after receipt of the ob5 jection, no decision is made on whether to 

6 review the decision of the administrative 

7 law judge, the Commission declines to re8 view such decision, or no quorum is seated, 

9 the decision of the administrative law 

10 judge shall become a final order of the 

11 Commission. If the Commission grants re12 view of the objection, the Commission shall 

13 issue a decision regarding the stay not 

14 later than 30 days after receipt of the ob15 jection. If the Commission fails to issue 

16 such decision within 30 days, the decision 

17 of the administrative law judge shall be18 come a final order of the Commission. 

19 ‘‘(iv) For notification to employees or 

20 representatives of affected employees of re21 quests for such hearings and shall provide 

22 affected employees or representatives of af23 fected employees an opportunity to partici24 pate as parties to such hearings.’’. 


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1 SEC. 309. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

2 (a) VIOLATIONS DESIGNATED AS SERIOUS, WILL3 FUL, OR REPEATED.—The first sentence of section 10(b) 

4 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

5 U.S.C. 659(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, with the excep6 tion of violations designated as serious, willful, or re7 peated,’’ after ‘‘(which period shall not begin to run’’. 

8 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—The first sentence of section 

9 11(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

10 (29 U.S.C. 660(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘(or the failure of the Commis12 sion, including an administrative law judge, to make 

13 a timely decision on a request for a stay under sec14 tion 10(d))’’ after ‘‘an order’’ ; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘subsections (c) and (d)’’; and 

17 (3) by inserting ‘‘(or in the case of a petition 

18 from a final Commission order regarding a stay 

19 under section 10(d), 15 days)’’after ‘‘sixty days’’. 

20 (c) FAILURE TO CORRECT VIOLATIONS.—Section 

21 17(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

22 (29 U.S.C. 666(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(d) Any employer who fails to correct a violation 

24 designated by the Secretary as serious, willful, or repeated 

25 and for which a citation has been issued under section 9(a) 

26 within the period permitted for its correction (and a stay 


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1 has not been issued by the Commission under section 

2 10(d)) may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than 

3 $7,000 for each day during which such failure or violation 

4 continues. Any employer who fails to correct any other vio5 lation for which a citation has been issued under section 

6 9(a) of this title within the period permitted for its correc7 tion (which period shall not begin to run until the date 

8 of the final order of the Commission in the case of any 

9 review proceeding under section 10 initiated by the em10 ployer in good faith and not solely for delay of avoidance 

11 of penalties) may be assessed a civil penalty of not more 

12 than $7,000 for each day during which such failure or vio13 lation continues.’’. 

14 SEC. 310. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 of the Occupational 

16 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

20 ‘‘$120,000’’; 

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

22 ‘‘$8,000’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In 

24 determining whether a violation is repeated, the 

25 Secretary or the Commission shall consider the 


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1 employer’s history of violations under this Act 

2 and under State occupational safety and health 

3 plans established under section 18. If such a 

4 willful or repeated violation caused or contrib5 uted to the death of an employee, such civil 

6 penalty amounts shall be increased to not more 

7 than $250,000 for each such violation, but not 

8 less than $50,000 for each such violation, ex9 cept that for an employer with 25 or fewer em10 ployees such penalty shall not be less than 

11 $25,000 for each such violation.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

14 ‘‘$12,000’’; and 

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

16 such a violation caused or contributed to the 

17 death of an employee, such civil penalty 

18 amounts shall be increased to not more than 

19 $50,000 for each such violation, but not less 

20 than $20,000 for each such violation, except 

21 that for an employer with 25 or fewer employ22 ees such penalty shall not be less than $10,000 

23 for each such violation.’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘$12,000’’; 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), as amended, by striking 

2 ‘‘$7,000’’ each place it occurs and inserting 

3 ‘‘$12,000’’; 

4 (5) by redesignating subsections (e) through (i) 

5 as subsections (f) through (j), and subsections (j) 

6 through (l) as subsections (l) through (n) respec7 tively; and 

8 (6) in subsection (j) (as so redesignated) by 

9 striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$12,000’’. 

10 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 17 is further 

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

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

13 penalties shall be adjusted by the Secretary at least once 

14 during each 4-year period beginning January 1, 2015, to 

15 account for the percentage increase or decrease in the 

16 Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers during 

17 such period.’’. 

18 SEC. 311. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 17 of the Occupational 

20 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666) (as 

21 amended by section 310) is further amended— 

22 (1) by amending subsection (f) (as redesignated 

23 by section 310) to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(f)(1) Any employer who knowingly violates any 

25 standard, rule, or order promulgated under section 6 of 


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1 this Act, or of any regulation prescribed under this Act, 

2 and that violation caused or significantly contributed to 

3 the death of any employee, shall, upon conviction, be pun4 ished by a fine in accordance with title 18, United States 

5 Code, or by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or 

6 both, except that if the conviction is for a violation com7 mitted after a first conviction of such person under this 

8 subsection or subsection (i), punishment shall be by a fine 

9 in accordance title 18, United States Code, or by imprison10 ment for not more than 20 years, or by both. 

11 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em12 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

13 section 3 of this Act, any officer or director.’’; 

14 (2) by amending subsection (g) (as redesignated 

15 by section 310) to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(g) Unless otherwise authorized by this Act, any 

17 person that knowingly gives, causes to give, or attempts 

18 to give or cause to give, advance notice of any inspection 

19 conducted under this Act with the intention of impeding, 

20 interfering with, or adversely affecting the results of such 

21 inspection, shall be fined under title 18, United States 

22 Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.’’. 

23 (3) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by section 

24 310), by striking ‘‘fine of not more than $10,000, or 

25 by imprisonment for not more than six months,’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘fine in accordance with title 18, 

2 United States Code, or by imprisonment for not 

3 more than 5 years,’’; and 

4 (4) by inserting after subsection (j) (as redesig5 nated by section 310) the following: 

6 ‘‘(k)(1) Any employer who knowingly violates any 

7 standard, rule, or order promulgated under section 6, or 

8 any regulation prescribed under this Act, and that viola9 tion caused or significantly contributed to serious bodily 

10 harm to any employee but does not cause death to any 

11 employee, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine in 

12 accordance with title 18, United States Code, or by impris13 onment for not more than 5 years, or by both, except that 

14 if the conviction is for a violation committed after a first 

15 conviction of such person under this subsection or sub16 section (e), punishment shall be by a fine in accordance 

17 with title 18, United States Code, or by imprisonment for 

18 not more than 10 years, or by both. 

19 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em20 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

21 section 3 of this Act, any officer or director. 

22 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri23 ous bodily harm’ means bodily injury or illness that in24 volves— 

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


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1 ‘‘(B) protracted unconsciousness; 

2 ‘‘(C) protracted and obvious physical disfigure3 ment; or 

4 ‘‘(D) protracted loss or impairment, either tem5 porary or permanent, of the function of a bodily 

6 member, organ, or mental faculty.’’. 

7 (b) JURISDICTION FOR PROSECUTION UNDER STATE

8 AND LOCAL CRIMINAL LAWS.—Such section is further 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

11 local law enforcement agency from conducting criminal 

12 prosecutions in accordance with the laws of such State or 

13 locality.’’. 

14 SEC. 312. PREJUDGMENT INTEREST. 

15 Section 17(n) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

16 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666(n)) (as redesignated by sec17 tion 310) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘Pre-final order interest on such penalties shall begin to 

19 accrue on the date the party contests a citation issued 

20 under this Act, and shall end upon the issuance of the 

21 final order. Such pre-final order interest shall be cal22 culated at the current underpayment rate determined by 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 6621 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall be com25 pounded daily. Post-final order interest shall begin to acVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:22 Jan 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H190.IH H190

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1 crue 30 days after the date a final order of the Commis2 sion or the court is issued, and shall be charged at the 

3 rate of 8 percent per year.’’. 

4 TITLE IV—STATE PLANS 

5 SEC. 401. CONCURRENT ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AND 

6 REVIEW OF STATE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

7 AND HEALTH PLANS. 

8 Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

9 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668) is amended— 

10 (1) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall, on the basis of reports 

13 submitted by the State agency and the Secretary’s own 

14 inspections, make a continuing evaluation of the manner 

15 in which each State that has a plan approved under this 

16 section is carrying out such plan. Such evaluation shall 

17 include an assessment of whether the State continues to 

18 meet the requirements of subsection (c) of this section and 

19 any other criteria or indices of effectiveness specified by 

20 the Secretary in regulations. Whenever the Secretary 

21 finds, on the basis of such evaluation, that in the adminis22 tration of the State plan there is a failure to comply sub23 stantially with any provision of the State plan (or any as24 surance contained therein), the Secretary shall make an 

25 initial determination of whether the failure is of such a 


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1 nature that the plan should be withdrawn or whether the 

2 failure is of such a nature that the State should be given 

3 the opportunity to remedy the deficiencies, and provide no4 tice of the Secretary’s findings and initial determination. 

5 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary makes an initial determination 

6 to reassert and exercise concurrent enforcement authority 

7 while the State is given an opportunity to remedy the defi8 ciencies, the Secretary shall afford the State an oppor9 tunity for a public hearing within 15 days of such request, 

10 provided that such request is made not later than 10 days 

11 after Secretary’s notice to the State. The Secretary shall 

12 review and consider the testimony, evidence, or written 

13 comments, and not later than 30 days following such hear14 ing, make a determination to affirm, reverse, or modify 

15 the Secretary’s initial determination to reassert and exer16 cise concurrent enforcement authority under sections 8, 9, 

17 10, 13, and 17 with respect to standards promulgated 

18 under section 6 and obligations under section 5(a). Fol19 lowing such a determination by the Secretary, or in the 

20 event that the State does not request a hearing within the 

21 time frame set forth in this paragraph, the Secretary may 

22 reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement author23 ity, while a final determination is pending under para24 graph (3) or until the Secretary has determined that the 

25 State has remedied the deficiencies as provided under 


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1 paragraph (4). Such determination shall be published in 

2 the Federal Register. The procedures set forth in section 

3 18(g) shall not apply to a determination by the Secretary 

4 to reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement au5 thority. 

6 ‘‘(3) If the Secretary makes an initial determination 

7 that the plan should be withdrawn, the Secretary shall 

8 provide due notice and the opportunity for a hearing. If 

9 based on the evaluation, comments, and evidence, the Sec10 retary makes a final determination that there is a failure 

11 to comply substantially with any provision of the State 

12 plan (or any assurance contained therein), he shall notify 

13 the State agency of the withdrawal of approval of such 

14 plan and upon receipt of such notice such plan shall cease 

15 to be in effect, but the State may retain jurisdiction in 

16 any case commenced before the withdrawal of the plan in 

17 order to enforce standards under the plan whenever the 

18 issues involved do not relate to the reasons for the with19 drawal of the plan. 

20 ‘‘(4) If the Secretary makes a determination that the 

21 State should be provided the opportunity to remedy the 

22 deficiencies, the Secretary shall provide the State an op23 portunity to respond to the Secretary’s findings and the 

24 opportunity to remedy such deficiencies within a time pe25 riod established by the Secretary, not to exceed 1 year. 


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1 The Secretary may extend and revise the time period to 

2 remedy such deficiencies, if the State’s legislature is not 

3 in session during this 1-year time period, or if the State 

4 demonstrates that it is not feasible to correct the defi5 ciencies in the time period set by the Secretary, and the 

6 State has a plan to correct the deficiencies within a rea7 sonable time period. If the Secretary finds that the State 

8 agency has failed to remedy such deficiencies within the 

9 time period specified by the Secretary and that the State 

10 plan continues to fail to comply substantially with a provi11 sion of the State plan, the Secretary shall withdraw the 

12 State plan as provided for in paragraph (3).’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub14 section: 

15 ‘‘(i) Not later than 18 months after the date of enact16 ment of this subsection, and every 5 years thereafter, the 

17 Comptroller General shall complete and issue a review of 

18 the effectiveness of State plans to develop and enforce 

19 safety and health standards to determine if they are at 

20 least as effective as the Federal program and to evaluate 

21 whether the Secretary’s oversight of State plans is effec22 tive. The Comptroller General’s evaluation shall assess— 

23 ‘‘(1) the effectiveness of the Secretary’s over24 sight of State plans, including the indices of effec25 tiveness used by the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(2) whether the Secretary’s investigations in 

2 response to Complaints About State Plan Adminis3 tration (CASPA) are adequate, whether significant 

4 policy issues have been identified by headquarters 

5 and corrective actions are fully implemented by each 

6 State; 

7 ‘‘(3) whether the formula for the distribution of 

8 funds described in section 23(g) to State programs 

9 is fair and adequate; and 

10 ‘‘(4) whether State plans are as effective as the 

11 Federal program in preventing occupational injuries, 

12 illnesses and deaths, and investigating discrimina13 tion complaints, through an evaluation of at least 20 

14 percent of approved State plans, and which shall 

15 cover— 

16 ‘‘(A) enforcement effectiveness, including 

17 handling of fatalities, serious incidents and 

18 complaints, compliance with inspection proce19 dures, hazard recognition, verification of abate20 ment, violation classification, citation and pen21 alty issuance, including appropriate use of will22 ful and repeat citations, and employee involve23 ment; 

24 ‘‘(B) inspections, the number of pro25 grammed health and safety inspections at priVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:22 Jan 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H190.IH H190

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1 vate and public sector establishments, and 

2 whether the State targets the highest hazard 

3 private sector work sites and facilities in that 

4 State; 

5 ‘‘(C) budget and staffing, including wheth6 er the State is providing adequate budget re7 sources to hire, train and retain sufficient num8 bers of qualified staff, including timely filling of 

9 vacancies; 

10 ‘‘(D) administrative review, including the 

11 quality of decisions, consistency with Federal 

12 precedence, transparency of proceedings, deci13 sions and records are available to the public, 

14 adequacy of State defense, and whether the 

15 State appropriately appeals adverse decisions; 

16 ‘‘(E) anti-discrimination, including whether 

17 discrimination complaints are processed in a 

18 timely manner, whether supervisors and inves19 tigators are properly trained to investigate dis20 crimination complaints, whether a case file re21 view indicates merit cases are properly identi22 fied consistent with Federal policy and proce23 dure, whether employees are notified of their 

24 rights, and whether there is an effective process 


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1 for employees to appeal the dismissal of a com2 plaint; 

3 ‘‘(F) program administration, including 

4 whether the State’s standards and policies are 

5 at least as effective as the Federal program and 

6 are updated in a timely manner, and whether 

7 National Emphasis Programs that are applica8 ble in such States are adopted and implemented 

9 in a manner that is at least as effective as the 

10 Federal program; 

11 ‘‘(G) whether the State plan satisfies the 

12 requirements for approval set forth in this sec13 tion and its implementing regulations; and 

14 ‘‘(H) other such factors identified by the 

15 Comptroller General, or as requested by the 

16 Committee on Education and the Workforce of 

17 the House of Representatives or the Committee 

18 on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of 

19 the Senate.’’. 


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1 TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

2 FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

3 AND HEALTH 

4 SEC. 501. HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS BY THE NA5 TIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL 

6 SAFETY AND HEALTH. 

7 Section 20(a)(6) of the Occupational Safety and 

8 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 669(a)(6)) is amended by 

9 striking the second sentence and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘The Secretary shall determine following a written request 

11 by any employer, authorized representative of current or 

12 former employees, physician, other Federal agency, or 

13 State or local health department, specifying with reason14 able particularity the grounds on which the request is 

15 made, whether any substance normally found in the place 

16 of employment has potentially toxic effects in such con17 centrations as used or found or whether any physical 

18 agents, equipment, or working condition found or used has 

19 potentially hazardous effects; and shall submit such deter20 mination both to employers and affected employees as 

21 soon as possible.’’. 

22 TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

23 SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided for in sub25 section (b), this Act and the amendments made by this 


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1 Act shall take effect not later than 90 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) EXCEPTION FOR STATES AND POLITICAL SUB4 DIVISIONS.—The following are exceptions to the effective 

5 date described in subsection (a): 

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

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

8 State plan to conform with the requirements of this 

9 Act and the amendments made by this Act not later 

10 than 12 months after the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act. The Secretary of Labor may extend the pe12 riod for a State to make such amendments to its 

13 State plan by not more than 12 months, if the 

14 State’s legislature is not in session during the 12- 

15 month period beginning with the date of the enact16 ment of this Act. Such amendments to the State 

17 plan shall take effect not later than 90 days after 

18 the adoption of such amendments by such State. 

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

20 Act shall take effect not later than 36 months after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act with respect 

22 to a workplace of a State, or a political subdivision 

23 of a State, that does not have a State plan approved 

24 under section 18 (29 U.S.C. 667). 

Æ 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS