Union Calendar No. 475

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 115

[Report No. 103–858]

A BILL

To strengthen the authority to require safe workand for other purposes. places for Federal and Postal Service employees,

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 475

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 115

[Report No. 103–858]

To strengthen the authority to require safe workplaces for Federal and

Postal Service employees, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. CLAY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Post Office and Civil Service

SEPTEMBER 9, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. SANDERS, Ms.

PELOSI, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. FORD of Michigan, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. WATT, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. TUCKER, Mrs.

MINK, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. KLINK, Mr. FILNER,

Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. PARKER, Mr. KOPETSKI, Ms.

DANNER, Mr. BLACKWELL, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. LEHMAN, Mr. BROWN of

California, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr.

LAFALCE, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. TORRES,

and Mr. DELLUMS

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Additional sponsors: Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. WYNN, Mr. STARK, Mr. BONIOR,

Mr. REED, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. MINETA, and Mr. NADLER

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 5, 1993]
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A BILL

To strengthen the authority to require safe workplaces for

Federal and Postal Service employees, and for other

purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal and Postal Serv5 ice Employees Occupational Safety and Health Act of

6 1994’’.

7 SEC. 2. FEDERAL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

8 PROGRAMS.

9 (a) NEW SUBCHAPTER.—Chapter 79 of title 5, United

10 States Code, is amended—

11 (1) by inserting before section 7901 the following:

12 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’;

13 (2) by repealing section 7902; and

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

15 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL OCCUPATIONAL

16 SAFETY AND HEALTH

17 ‘‘§ 7911. Definitions; applicability

18 ‘‘(a) For the purpose of this subchapter—

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ means an Executive agen20 cy, the United States Postal Service, and the Postal
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1 Rate Commission, but shall not include the General

2 Accounting Office;

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘employee’ means any person, other

4 than a member of the Armed Forces, employed by an

5 agency, including any individual employed outside

6 the United States;

7 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Commission’ means the Occupa8 tional Safety and Health Review Commission estab9 lished under the Occupational Safety and Health Act

10 of 1970;

11 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of

12 Labor;

13 ‘‘(5) the term ‘worksite’ means a single physical

14 location where the work of the agency is conducted or

15 where services or operations are performed by employ16 ees of the agency; where distinctly separate activities

17 are performed at a single physical location, each ac18 tivity shall be treated as a separate worksite; and

19 ‘‘(6) the term ‘State’ includes a State of the

20 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,

21 the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the

22 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

23 ‘‘(b) This subchapter shall apply with respect to em24 ployment in a workplace, whether inside or outside the

25 United States.
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1 ‘‘§ 7912. Employee rights and obligations

2 ‘‘Each employee of an agency—

3 ‘‘(1) shall have the right to employment and a

4 place of employment which are free from recognized

5 safety and health hazards that are causing or are

6 likely to cause death or serious physical harm to em7 ployees;

8 ‘‘(2) shall have the right to report unsafe or

9 unhealthy working conditions to appropriate officials

10 without fear of reprisal; and

11 ‘‘(3) shall comply with occupational safety and

12 health standards, rules, and orders issued under sec13 tion 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of

14 1970, and all regulations issued pursuant to this sub15 chapter which are applicable to the employee’s actions

16 and conduct.

17 The rights of employees under this section are in addition

18 to any other rights which such employees may have.

19 ‘‘§ 7913. Duties of agencies

20 ‘‘(a) The head of each agency shall—

21 ‘‘(1) furnish, to each employee of such agency

22 and to each other employee at a worksite of the agen23 cy, employment and a place of employment which are

24 free from recognized hazards which the agency creates

25 or controls or to which the agency exposes employees
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1 and which are causing or are likely to cause death or

2 serious physical harm to employees;

3 ‘‘(2) comply with occupational safety and health

4 standards, rules, and orders under section 6 of the Oc5 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and all

6 regulations issued pursuant to this subchapter;

7 ‘‘(3) acquire, maintain and require the use of

8 such safety equipment, personal protective equipment

9 and clothing, and devices as are reasonably necessary

10 to protect employees of such agency from unsafe or

11 unhealthy conditions in the performance of their du12 ties, at no cost to the employees; and

13 ‘‘(4) ensure that the safety and health program

14 established under section 7914 and the agency em15 ployees who administer such program and other pro16 visions of this subchapter have the funds, authority,

17 training, and qualified personnel to effectively carry

18 out the requirements of this subchapter.

19 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding sections 7103(a)(14)(C),

20 7106(a), and 7117 (a) and (b), the duty to bargain in good

21 faith under chapter 71 of this title, chapter 12 of title 39,

22 or chapter 74 of title 38 shall, in addition to any other

23 matter to which it applies, also extend to occupational safe24 ty and health matters generally and the substance of the

25 programs and requirements under this subchapter, except
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1 that any matter agreed to shall afford at least the level of

2 protection which would otherwise be required under this

3 subchapter and section 6 of the Occupational Safety and

4 Health Act of 1970.

5 ‘‘(c)(1) The head of each agency shall appoint a Des6 ignated Agency Safety and Health Officer (hereinafter in

7 this subchapter referred to as a ‘DASHO’). The DASHO

8 shall perform such functions as the head of the agency may

9 from time to time prescribe in establishing and carrying

10 out the agency safety and health program.

11 ‘‘(2) The head of each agency shall appoint such other

12 subordinate officials as are necessary to ensure that the

13 agency’s safety and health program is carried out at all

14 agency worksites.

15 ‘‘(d) The head of each agency shall ensure that, in con16 ducting any performance evaluation of any employee with

17 management or supervisory functions, such evaluation

18 measures such employee’s performance in meeting the re19 quirements of this subchapter and of the safety and health

20 program of the agency, consistent with such employee’s re21 sponsibilities and duties thereunder.

22 ‘‘(e)(1) Each agency shall make, keep and preserve,

23 and make available to the Secretary or the Secretary of

24 Health and Human Services, such records regarding its ac25 tivities relating to this subchapter as the Secretary, in co-
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1 operation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv2 ices, may prescribe by regulation as necessary or appro3 priate for the enforcement of this subchapter or for develop4 ing information regarding the causes and prevention of oc5 cupational accidents and illnesses. The Secretary shall also

6 issue regulations requiring that agencies, through posting

7 of notices or other appropriate means, keep their employees

8 informed of their protections and obligations under this

9 subchapter, including the provisions of applicable stand10 ards. Such regulations shall include provisions requiring

11 agencies to post for employees the protections afforded under

12 section 7922, including the circumstances under which an

13 employee is protected against reprisal for refusing to per14 form duties that might result in serious injury to the em15 ployee or other employees.

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary

17 of Health and Human Services, shall prescribe regulations

18 requiring each agency to maintain accurate records of, and

19 make periodic reports on, work-related deaths, injuries, ill20 nesses, work-related illness reported by an employee or an

21 employee’s physician (unless the agency makes a reasonable

22 determination that the illness is not work-related), and an

23 adverse medical condition determined as a result of a medi24 cal examination or test conducted under an occupational

25 safety and health standard. Records and reports shall not
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1 be required for minor injuries requiring only first aid treat2 ment and which do not involve medical treatment, loss of

3 consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to

4 another job.

5 ‘‘(3) The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary

6 of Health and Human Services, shall prescribe regulations

7 requiring each agency to maintain accurate records of em8 ployee exposures to potentially toxic materials or harmful

9 physical agents which are required to be monitored or meas10 ured under section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health

11 Act of 1970. Each agency shall provide employees or their

12 representatives with an opportunity to observe such mon13 itoring or measuring, and to have access to the records

14 thereof, and shall also make appropriate provision for each

15 employee or former employee to have access to such records

16 as will indicate that individual’s own exposure to toxic ma17 terials or harmful physical agents. Each agency shall

18 promptly notify any employee who has been or is being ex19 posed to toxic materials or harmful physical agents in con20 centrations or at levels which exceed those prescribed by an

21 applicable occupational safety and health standard promul22 gated under section 6 of the Occupational Safety and

23 Health Act of 1970. The agency shall inform any employee

24 who is being thus exposed of the corrective action being

25 taken to prevent further such exposure.
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1 ‘‘§ 7914. Safety and health programs

2 ‘‘(a) The head of each agency shall establish and carry

3 out a comprehensive, agency-wide occupational safety and

4 health program to reduce or eliminate hazards and to pre5 vent injuries and illnesses to employees. The scope of such

6 a program shall include, but not be limited to, establish7 ment and evaluation of worksite safety and health programs

8 established under subsection (b); activities that span mul9 tiple worksites, such as education and training programs;

10 and inspections by qualified safety and occupational health

11 specialists.

12 ‘‘(b) The head of each agency shall establish and carry

13 out a written safety and health program in each worksite

14 that includes—

15 ‘‘(1) methods and procedures for identifying,

16 evaluating, and documenting safety and health haz17 ards, including the designation of 1 or more rep18 resentatives of the agency who have the qualifications

19 and responsibility to identify safety and health haz20 ards;

21 ‘‘(2) methods and procedures for correcting the

22 safety and health hazards identified under paragraph

23 (1) and protecting employees in imminent danger sit24 uations, including the designation of 1 or more rep25 resentatives of the agency who have the authority to
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1 initiate corrective action at each location where the

2 agency’s employees work;

3 ‘‘(3) methods and procedures for investigating

4 and recording work-related illnesses, injuries, and

5 deaths;

6 ‘‘(4) methods and procedures for providing emer7 gency response first-aid and other occupational health

8 services that are required by regulations under this

9 subchapter;

10 ‘‘(5) methods and procedures for employee par11 ticipation in the implementation of the agency’s safe12 ty and health program, including participation

13 through a safety and health committee established

14 under section 7915, where applicable;

15 ‘‘(6) methods and procedures for providing safety

16 and health training and education to employees and

17 to members of a safety and health committee estab18 lished under section 7915;

19 ‘‘(7) in the case of a worksite where employees of

20 2 or more agencies work, procedures for each agency

21 to protect employees at the worksite from hazards

22 under the agency’s control, including procedures to

23 provide information on safety and health hazards to

24 other agencies and employees at the worksite; and
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1 ‘‘(8) such other measures as the Secretary may

2 by regulation require to carry out the purposes of this

3 subchapter.

4 ‘‘(c) The agency shall permit employees to take such

5 time from work as is reasonably necessary to participate

6 in the agency-wide or worksite safety and health programs,

7 including training and education activities. Such partici8 pation shall be considered to be time worked, and no em9 ployee shall suffer any adverse effect in terms of pay, bene10 fits, or any other term or condition of employment for hav11 ing participated.

12 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall, within 18 months after

13 the effective date of the Federal and Postal Service Employ14 ees Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1994, issue final

15 regulations on agency safety and health programs required

16 by this section.

17 ‘‘(2) The regulations of the Secretary under paragraph

18 (1) respecting an agency’s safety and health program

19 shall—

20 ‘‘(A) provide for training and education of em21 ployees at the time of assignment in a manner that

22 is readily understood by such employees concerning

23 safety and health hazards, control measures, and the

24 agency’s safety and health program;
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1 ‘‘(B) provide for the dissemination of informa2 tion to employees at the time of appointment, in a

3 manner that is readily understood by such employees,

4 regarding employee rights and obligations, the protec5 tions afforded under section 7922, including the cir6 cumstances under which an employee is protected

7 against reprisal for refusing to perform duties that

8 might result in serious injury or for reporting an un9 safe condition, and applicable laws and regulations;

10 ‘‘(C) provide for training and education of safety

11 and health committee members, at the time of their

12 selection, to enable such members to carry out the ac13 tivities of the committee under section 7915;

14 ‘‘(D) require that refresher training and addi15 tional training be provided to employees and to safety

16 and health committee members as needed and when

17 there are changes in conditions or operations that

18 may expose employees to new or different safety or

19 health hazards or when there are changes in safety

20 and health regulations or standards under this sub21 chapter or section 6 of the Occupational Safety and

22 Health Act of 1970 that apply to the agency; and

23 ‘‘(E) provide that any specific program or train24 ing requirements imposed by regulations issued under

25 section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
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1 of 1970 may be combined or coordinated with the

2 agency’s safety and health program.

3 ‘‘(e) The head of each agency shall develop and imple4 ment a program for evaluating the effectiveness of the agen5 cy’s safety and health program and shall report to the Sec6 retary annually the results of such evaluation. The annual

7 report shall—

8 ‘‘(1) report the status on appropriate outcome

9 performance measures, consistent with regulations es10 tablished by the Secretary under subsection (d), which

11 the agency is using to determine program effective12 ness;

13 ‘‘(2) summarize the agency’s evaluations of each

14 worksite safety and health program;

15 ‘‘(3) describe any violations of safety and health

16 program or committee requirements found by the Sec17 retary in the inspections and investigations conducted

18 under section 7916, and what steps have been taken

19 to ensure that such violations do not exist at other

20 worksites within the agency; and

21 ‘‘(4) contain other such information as the Sec22 retary shall require.

23 ‘‘(f)(1) As part of the agency-wide safety and health

24 program, and in order to carry out the purposes of this

25 subchapter, the head of each agency shall ensure that each
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1 worksite of such agency is inspected by a qualified safety

2 or occupational health specialist—

3 ‘‘(A) annually;

4 ‘‘(B) as needed in worksites where conditions cre5 ate a high risk of accident, injury, or illness;

6 ‘‘(C) as needed to confirm that hazardous condi7 tions identified in inspections by the worksite safety

8 and health committees, the agency, or the Secretary

9 have been abated; and

10 ‘‘(D) as may be required under paragraph (2).

11 ‘‘(2)(A) Any employee of an agency and any represent12 ative of such employee may request an inspection under

13 paragraph (1) by reporting to the DASHO in such agency

14 (or to any designee of the DASHO), any unsafe or

15 unhealthy working condition. Upon the request of the indi16 vidual making such report, the agency shall not disclose the

17 identity of any individual who makes such report except

18 to an authorized representative of the Secretary.

19 ‘‘(B) If a report is made under subparagraph (A), and

20 the DASHO (or designee) determines that there are reason21 able grounds to believe such a hazard exists, an inspection

22 shall be conducted under paragraph (1)—

23 ‘‘(i) within 12 hours after the receipt of such re24 port in the case of a condition which presents an im25 minent danger to the safety or health of employees;
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1 ‘‘(ii) within 3 working days after the receipt of

2 such report in the case of a condition which presents

3 a potentially serious risk to the safety or health of em4 ployees of the agency; or

5 ‘‘(iii) within 20 working days after the receipt of

6 such report in the case of a condition other than 1 de7 scribed in clause (i) or (ii).

8 ‘‘(C) If the DASHO determines that there are no rea9 sonable grounds to believe that a violation or danger exists,

10 the DASHO shall notify the employees or representative of

11 the employees in writing of such determination within 15

12 days after receipt of the request for inspection.

13 ‘‘(3) If it is determined in an inspection conducted

14 under this subsection that an imminent danger to safety

15 or health exists at the worksite, the inspector conducting

16 such inspection shall immediately inform the designated

17 representative of the agency at the worksite who has the au18 thority to initiate corrective action, and the affected em19 ployees in such worksite and the representative of such em20 ployees (if any). The agency representative with authority

21 to initiate corrective action in the worksite shall imme22 diately correct the condition or practice constituting an im23 minent danger or remove employees from exposure to such

24 danger. For the purposes of this subchapter, an imminent

25 danger exists when there is a condition or practice in a
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1 place of employment that could reasonably be expected to

2 cause death or serious physical harm or permanent impair3 ment to the health or functional capacity of employees if

4 not corrected immediately or before the imminence of such

5 danger can be eliminated through the enforcement proce6 dures otherwise required by this subchapter.

7 ‘‘§ 7915. Safety and health committees

8 ‘‘(a) The head of each agency shall establish a safety

9 and health committee (hereinafter in this section referred

10 to as the ‘committee’) at each worksite in accordance with

11 subsection (d), subject to subsections (e) and (g). The head

12 of each agency shall make available to such committees all

13 information and assistance relevant and necessary for car14 rying out the purposes of this section.

15 ‘‘(b) The purpose of the committees is to bring employ16 ees and agency management together in a nonadversarial,

17 cooperative effort to promote safety and health in each

18 worksite. A safety and health committee established under

19 subsection (a) assists the agency head and makes rec20 ommendations regarding methods of addressing safety and

21 health hazards. The committee rights include, but are not

22 limited to, those specified in subsection (c).

23 ‘‘(c)(1) Each committee shall have the right, within

24 reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner, to—
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1 ‘‘(A) review any safety and health program es2 tablished under section 7914;

3 ‘‘(B) review incidents resulting in work-related

4 deaths, injuries, and illnesses, and complaints regard5 ing safety or health hazards by employees or commit6 tee members;

7 ‘‘(C) review, upon request to the agency by any

8 committee member, the agency’s work injury and ill9 ness records, other than personally identifiable medi10 cal information, and other reports or documents relat11 ing to occupational safety and health;

12 ‘‘(D) conduct inspections of the worksite at least

13 once every 3 months and in response to complaints

14 regarding safety or health hazards by employees or

15 committee members;

16 ‘‘(E) conduct interviews with employees in con17 junction with inspections of the worksite;

18 ‘‘(F) conduct regularly-scheduled meetings at

19 least once every 3 months and maintain written min20 utes of such meetings;

21 ‘‘(G) call special meetings, where necessary, with

22 advance notice to members of the committee, employ23 ees, and exclusive representatives of employees;

24 ‘‘(H) observe the measurement of employee expo25 sure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents;
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1 ‘‘(I) on behalf of the committee as a whole, agen2 cy or employee representatives on the committee or

3 individual committee members, make recommenda4 tions, and receive a response from the agency, regard5 ing improvements in the comprehensive agency-wide

6 safety and health program or the worksite safety and

7 health program and correction of hazards to employee

8 safety or health; and

9 ‘‘(J) accompany the head of the agency or the

10 head of the agency’s representative during any phys11 ical inspection of the committee’s worksite under sec12 tion 7914(f), and the Secretary or the Secretary’s rep13 resentative during any physical inspection of the

14 worksite under section 7916.

15 ‘‘(2) The agency shall permit members of the committee

16 to take such time from work as is reasonably necessary to

17 carry out the functions of the committee, without suffering

18 any adverse effect in terms of pay, benefits, or any other

19 term or condition of employment.

20 ‘‘(d)(1) Each committee shall consist of the employee

21 safety and health representatives elected or appointed under

22 paragraph (3) and up to an equal number of agency rep23 resentatives. In determining the average number of

24 nonmanagerial employees of an agency for purposes of this
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1 subsection, only employees employed more than an average

2 of 20 hours per week shall be counted.

3 ‘‘(2) Each committee shall include—

4 ‘‘(A) 1 employee safety and health representative

5 at each worksite where the average number of

6 nonmanagerial employees of the agency during the

7 preceding calendar year was more than 10, but less

8 than 51;

9 ‘‘(B) 2 employee safety and health representa10 tives at each worksite where the average number of

11 nonmanagerial employees of the agency during the

12 preceding calendar year was more than 50 but less

13 than 101; or

14 ‘‘(C) at each worksite where the average number

15 of nonmanagerial employees of the agency during the

16 preceding calendar year was more than 100, 2 em17 ployee safety and health representatives plus 1 addi18 tional representative for every unit of 100 by which

19 such average exceeds 100, except that not more than

20 a total of 6 employee safety and health representatives

21 shall be allowed under this subparagraph.

22 ‘‘(3) The agency’s nonmanagerial employees shall, in

23 accordance with procedures under subsection (e)(1), select

24 employee safety and health representatives by and from

25 among themselves, as follows:
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1 ‘‘(A) Where none of the agency’s employees at a

2 worksite are represented by an exclusive representa3 tive, the employees shall select employee safety and

4 health representatives.

5 ‘‘(B) Where the agency’s employees are rep6 resented by a single exclusive representative, the rep7 resentative shall designate the employee safety and

8 health representatives.

9 ‘‘(C) Where the agency’s employees are rep10 resented by more than one exclusive representative or

11 where some but not all of the employees are rep12 resented by an exclusive representative, each such ex13 clusive representative and, where applicable, the em14 ployees shall designate a proportionate number of em15 ployee safety and health representatives in a manner

16 prescribed by the Secretary by regulation.

17 ‘‘(4) An employee shall have the right to seek to be an

18 employee safety and health representative and to otherwise

19 participate in the selection process without being subject to

20 penalties, discipline, agency interference, or reprisal of any

21 kind.

22 ‘‘(e)(1) The Secretary shall, within 18 months after the

23 effective date of the Federal and Postal Service Employees

24 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1994, issue regula-
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1 tions on safety and health committees. Such regulations

2 shall include provisions relating to—

3 ‘‘(A) the functioning of committees, including the

4 selection, terms, and number of employee safety and

5 health representatives and the maintenance of records;

6 and

7 ‘‘(B) the procedures for obtaining employee par8 ticipation in the worksite safety and health program

9 and inspections conducted by the Secretary in work10 sites with fewer than 11 employees.

11 ‘‘(2) Regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall in12 clude provisions addressing situations in which—

13 ‘‘(A) an agency’s employees do not primarily re14 port to or work at a fixed location;

15 ‘‘(B) employees of more than 1 agency employer

16 are employed; and

17 ‘‘(C) access to all or part of a worksite requires

18 a security clearance.

19 ‘‘(f) The rights and remedies provided to employees

20 and employee safety and health representatives by this sec21 tion are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other rights

22 and remedies provided by contract, by other provisions of

23 this subchapter, or by other applicable law, and are not

24 intended to alter or affect such rights and remedies.
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1 ‘‘(g) Upon application of the agency, the Secretary

2 may approve the establishment of a mechanism for em3 ployee participation in the promotion of worksite safety

4 and health which differs in form from the safety and health

5 committee if the alternative ensures that employees may

6 meaningfully participate in safety and health activities at

7 the worksite. An application to establish an alternative

8 mechanism for employee participation may not be approved

9 by the Secretary unless—

10 ‘‘(1) the mechanism for employee participation

11 provides for the free and fair selection of employee

12 participants by and from among the agency’s

13 nonmanagerial employees in a manner that ensures

14 that employees will not be subject to penalties, dis15 cipline, agency interference, or reprisals of any kind;

16 ‘‘(2) the mechanism for employee participation

17 ensures that the rights under subsection (c) may be

18 exercised by the employee participants; and

19 ‘‘(3) the mechanism for employee participation

20 contains such other provisions as the Secretary may

21 require.

22 The Secretary shall not approve an application unless the

23 agency’s nonmanagerial employees have received notice and

24 have been provided at least 60 days in which to comment

25 on the application and, where the agency’s employees are
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1 represented by one or more exclusive representatives, unless

2 such representatives support the agency’s application.

3 ‘‘§ 7916. Inspections and investigations by the Sec4 retary

5 ‘‘(a) In order to carry out the purposes of this sub6 chapter, the Secretary, upon presenting appropriate creden7 tials, is authorized—

8 ‘‘(1) to enter without delay any facility, site, es9 tablishment or other area, workplace, or environment

10 where work is performed by an employee of an agen11 cy; and

12 ‘‘(2) to inspect and investigate, within reason13 able limits and in a reasonable manner, any such

14 place of employment and all pertinent conditions,

15 structures, machines, apparatus, devices, equipment,

16 and materials therein, and to question privately any

17 such agency employee or official.

18 ‘‘(b) In making any inspection or investigation under

19 this subchapter, the Secretary may require the attendance

20 and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence

21 under oath. Witnesses who are not employees of the agency

22 shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid wit23 nesses in the courts of the United States. In case of contu24 macy, or a failure or refusal of any person to obey such

25 an order, any district court of the United States or the
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1 United States courts of any territory or possession, within

2 the jurisdiction of which such person is found, resides, or

3 transacts business, upon the application by the Secretary,

4 shall have jurisdiction to issue to such person an order re5 quiring such person to appear to produce evidence if, as,

6 and when so ordered, and to give testimony relating to the

7 matter under investigation or in question, and any failure

8 to obey such order of the court may be punished by such

9 court as a contempt thereof.

10 ‘‘(c)(1) Subject to regulations issued by the Secretary,

11 a representative of the agency and a designee of the em12 ployee representatives on the worksite safety and health

13 committee shall be given an opportunity to accompany the

14 Secretary or an authorized representative of the Secretary

15 during the physical inspection of any workplace under sub16 section (a) for the purpose of aiding such inspection. Where

17 there is no worksite safety and health committee, an em18 ployee representative identified according to regulations es19 tablished under 7915(e) shall be given an opportunity to

20 accompany the Secretary or the Secretary’s representative

21 during the inspection. Time spent by an employee on any

22 such inspection shall be considered to be time worked, and

23 no employee shall suffer any adverse effect in terms of pay,

24 benefits, or any other term or condition of employment for

25 having participated in the inspection.
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1 ‘‘(2) A representative of the Administrator of General

2 Services shall, upon request of the Secretary, accompany

3 the Secretary in an inspection under this section of a facil4 ity subject to the authority of the Administrator.

5 ‘‘(d)(1) Any employees or representative of employees

6 who believe that a violation of this subchapter or a safety

7 or health standard under section 6 of the Occupational

8 Safety and Health Act of 1970 exists that threatens physical

9 harm, or that an imminent danger exists, may request an

10 inspection by giving notice to the Secretary or the Sec11 retary’s authorized representative of such violation or dan12 ger. Any such notice shall be reduced to writing, shall set

13 forth with reasonable particularity the grounds for the no14 tice, and shall be signed by the employees or representative

15 of employees, and a copy shall be provided the agency no

16 later than at the time of inspection, except that, upon the

17 request of the person giving such notice, such person’s name

18 and the names of any employees referred to therein shall

19 not appear in such copy or on any record published, re20 leased, or made available pursuant to subsection (e). If,

21 upon receipt of such notification, the Secretary determines

22 there are reasonable grounds to believe that such violation

23 or danger exists, the Secretary shall make a special inspec24 tion in accordance with the provisions of this section as

25 soon as practicable to determine if such violation or danger
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1 exists. If the Secretary determines there are no reasonable

2 grounds to believe that a violation or danger exists, the Sec3 retary shall notify the employees or representative of the

4 employees in writing of such determination within 30 days

5 after receipt of the request for inspection.

6 ‘‘(2) If, upon receipt of a notification other than those

7 specified in paragraph (1), the Secretary determines that

8 there are reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of

9 this subchapter or a safety and health standard promul10 gated under section 6 of the Occupational Safety and

11 Health Act of 1970 exists that threatens physical harm, the

12 Secretary shall conduct an investigation. The Secretary

13 shall by regulation establish procedures for conducting such

14 investigations which shall include provisions for verifying

15 the existence or abatement of the alleged violation and for

16 notice to affected employees of the Secretary’s investigation

17 of the alleged violation.

18 ‘‘(3) The head of any Federal or State agency or the

19 representative of the head of any such agency who believes

20 that a violation of this subchapter or a safety or health

21 standard exists that threatens physical harm, or that an

22 imminent danger exists, may request an inspection by giv23 ing notice to the Secretary or the Secretary’s authorized

24 representative of such violation or danger. Upon receipt of

25 such notification, the Secretary shall make a special inspec-
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1 tion as soon as practicable to determine if such violation

2 or danger exists.

3 ‘‘(4) Prior to or during any inspection or investigation

4 of a workplace, any employees or representative of employ5 ees employed in such workplace may notify the Secretary

6 or any representative of the Secretary responsible for con7 ducting the inspection or investigation, in writing, of any

8 violation of this subchapter or section 6 of the Occupational

9 Safety and Health Act of 1970 which they have reason to

10 believe exists in such workplace. The Secretary shall, by reg11 ulation, establish procedures for informal review of any re12 fusal by a representative of the Secretary to issue a citation

13 with respect to any such alleged violation and shall furnish

14 the employees or representative of employees requesting such

15 review a written statement of the reasons for the Secretary’s

16 final disposition of the case.

17 ‘‘(e)(1) The Secretary and the Secretary of Health and

18 Human Services each may compile, analyze, and publish,

19 either in summary or detailed form, all reports or informa20 tion obtained under this subchapter.

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary and the Secretary of Health and

22 Human Services shall each prescribe such rules and regula23 tions as each may deem necessary with respect to their re24 sponsibilities, the duties of agencies, and other requirements

25 under this subchapter.
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1 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary shall establish and carry out a

2 special emphasis inspection program for conducting inspec3 tions of agency operations where—

4 ‘‘(A) existing hazards, or

5 ‘‘(B) newly recognized or new hazards intro6 duced into worksites,

7 warrant more intensive than normal inspections, as deter8 mined by the Secretary.

9 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall annually designate the oper10 ations for the special emphasis inspection program and

11 identify the number of special emphasis inspections that the

12 Secretary plans to conduct in each designated operation

13 and the number of enforcement personnel required for such

14 inspections.

15 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall include information on in16 spections conducted pursuant to paragraph (2) during the

17 preceding year as part of the Secretary’s annual report re18 quired under section 7921.

19 ‘‘(g)(1) For the purposes of this subsection, the term

20 ‘serious incident’ means an incident that results in the hos21 pitalization of 2 or more employees.

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall investigate any work-related

23 death or serious incident.

24 ‘‘(3) If a death or serious incident occurs in a place

25 of employment covered by this subchapter, the agency shall
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1 notify the Secretary of the death or serious incident and

2 shall take appropriate measures to prevent the destruction

3 or alteration of any evidence that would assist in inves4 tigating the death or serious incident. The appropriate

5 measures required by this paragraph do not prevent an

6 agency from taking action at a worksite to prevent injury

7 to employees or substantial damage to property. If an agen8 cy takes such action, the agency shall notify the Secretary

9 of the action in a timely fashion.

10 ‘‘§ 7917. Citations

11 ‘‘(a) If, upon inspection or investigation, the Secretary

12 or the Secretary’s authorized representative believes that an

13 agency has violated a requirement of—

14 ‘‘(1) section 7912, 7913, 7914, or 7915;

15 ‘‘(2) any standard, rule or order prescribed pur16 suant to section 6 of the Occupational Safety and

17 Health Act of 1970; or

18 ‘‘(3) any regulation prescribed under this sub19 chapter,

20 the Secretary shall with reasonable promptness issue a cita21 tion to the agency. Each citation shall be in writing and

22 shall describe with particularity the nature of the violation,

23 including a reference to the provision of law, standard, rule,

24 regulation, or order alleged to have been violated. In addi25 tion, the citation shall fix a reasonable time for the abate-
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1 ment of the violation. The Secretary may prescribe proce2 dures for the issuance of a notice in lieu of a citation with

3 respect to de minimis violations which have no direct or

4 immediate relationship to safety or health.

5 ‘‘(b) Each citation issued under this section, or a copy

6 or copies thereof, shall be prominently posted, as prescribed

7 in regulations issued by the Secretary, at or near each place

8 a violation referred to in the citation occurred.

9 ‘‘(c) No citation may be issued under this section after

10 the expiration of 6 months following the occurrence of any

11 violation. The 6-month time limit shall not apply to a noti12 fication of penalty.

13 ‘‘(d) A citation issued under this section to an agency

14 that violates the requirements of paragraph (1) or (2) of

15 section 7912 or section 7913(a); any standard, rule, or

16 order prescribed pursuant to section 6 of the Occupational

17 Safety and Health Act of 1970; or any regulation prescribed

18 under this subchapter shall be vacated if such agency dem19 onstrates that, prior to the date of the alleged violation—

20 ‘‘(1) employees of such agency were provided

21 with the proper training and equipment to prevent

22 such a violation;

23 ‘‘(2) work rules designed to prevent such a viola24 tion were established and adequately communicated to
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1 employees by such agency and were being effectively

2 enforced when a violation was discovered;

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

4 rules led to the violation; and

5 ‘‘(4) reasonable steps were taken by such agency

6 to discover any such violation.

7 ‘‘§ 7918. Procedure for enforcement

8 ‘‘(a) If, after an inspection or investigation, the Sec9 retary issues a citation under section 7917, the Secretary

10 shall, within a reasonable time after the termination of such

11 inspection or investigation, notify the agency by certified

12 mail of the penalty, if any, proposed to be assessed under

13 section 7918e and that the agency has 15 working days

14 within which to notify the Secretary that such agency wish15 es to contest the citation or proposed assessment of penalty.

16 If, within 15 working days after the receipt of the notice

17 issued by the Secretary, the agency fails to notify the Sec18 retary that the agency intends to contest the citation or pro19 posed assessment of penalty, and no notice is filed by any

20 employee or representative of employees under subsection (c)

21 within such time, the citation and the assessment, as pro22 posed, shall be deemed a final order of the Occupational

23 Safety and Health Review Commission and not subject to

24 review by any court or agency.
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1 ‘‘(b) If the Secretary has reason to believe that an

2 agency has failed to correct a violation for which a citation

3 has been issued within the period permitted for its correc4 tion (which period for other than serious violations shall

5 not begin to run until the entry of a final order by the

6 Commission in the case of any review proceedings under

7 this section initiated by the agency in good faith and not

8 solely for delay or avoidance of penalties), the Secretary

9 shall notify the agency by certified mail of such failure and

10 of the penalty proposed to be assessed under section 7918e

11 by reason of such failure, and that the agency has 15 work12 ing days within which to notify the Secretary that such

13 agency wishes to contest the Secretary’s notification or the

14 proposed assessment of penalty. If, within 15 working days

15 after the receipt of notification issued by the Secretary, the

16 agency fails to notify the Secretary that it intends to contest

17 the notification or proposed assessment of penalty, the noti18 fication and assessment, as proposed, shall be deemed a

19 final order of the Commission and not subject to review by

20 any court or agency. In lieu of providing the notification

21 required by this subsection, where a notice of contest to a

22 citation is pending before the Commission, the Secretary

23 may by appropriate motion in that proceeding assert that

24 the agency has failed to abate the violation within the time

25 period fixed in the citation.
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1 ‘‘(c) If an agency notifies the Secretary that it intends

2 to contest a citation issued under section 7917(a) or notifi3 cation issued under subsection (a) or (b) of this section, or

4 if, within 15 working days after the issuance of a citation

5 or modification of a citation under section 7917(a), any

6 employee or representative of employees files a notice with

7 the Secretary alleging that the citation fails properly to des8 ignate the violation as serious, willful, or repeated, or that

9 the proposed penalty is not adequate, or alleging that the

10 period of time fixed in the citation for the abatement of

11 the violation is unreasonable, the Secretary shall imme12 diately advise the Commission of such notification, and the

13 Commission shall afford an opportunity for a hearing (in

14 accordance with section 554, but without regard to sub15 section (a)(3) of such section). The pendency of a contest

16 before the Commission shall not bar the Secretary from in17 specting a place of employment or from issuing a citation

18 under section 7917. The Commission shall thereafter issue

19 an order, based on findings of fact, affirming, modifying,

20 or vacating the Secretary’s citation or proposed penalty, or

21 directing other appropriate relief, and such order shall be22 come final 30 days after its issuance. Upon a showing by

23 an agency of a good faith effort to comply with the abate24 ment requirements of a citation, and that abatement has

25 not been completed because of factors beyond the agency’s
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1 reasonable control, the Secretary, after an opportunity for

2 a hearing as provided in this subsection, shall issue an

3 order affirming or modifying the abatement requirements

4 in such citation. The rules of procedure prescribed by the

5 Commission shall provide affected employees or representa6 tives of affected employees an opportunity to participate as

7 parties to proceedings under this subsection.

8 ‘‘(d) Each agency to which a citation for a serious,

9 willful, or repeated violation has been issued under section

10 7917 shall verify the abatement of such violation in writing

11 to the Secretary not later than 10 days after the period for

12 correction of the violation has expired. Such verification

13 shall include appropriate documentary evidence of abate14 ment. In addition, each such agency shall prominently post,

15 within 10 days after the verification of abatement, at or

16 near each place a violation occurred a notice that the viola17 tion has been abated, and shall make available to employees

18 and employee representatives for inspection a copy of the

19 verification of abatement provided to the Secretary pursu20 ant to this subsection. The Secretary shall issue regulations

21 to implement this subsection within 1 year of the date of

22 the enactment of the Federal and Postal Service Employees

23 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1994.

24 ‘‘(e)(1) If the Secretary intends to withdraw or to mod25 ify a citation as a result of any agreement with the cited
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1 agency, the rules of procedure prescribed by the Commission

2 shall provide for prompt notice to affected employees or rep3 resentatives of affected employees, which notice shall include

4 the terms of the proposed agreement.

5 ‘‘(2) Within 15 working days of receipt of the notice

6 provided in accordance with paragraph (1), any employee

7 or representative of employees, regardless of whether such

8 employee or representative has previously elected to partici9 pate in the proceedings, shall have the right to file a notice

10 with the Secretary alleging that the proposed agreement

11 fails to effectuate the purposes of this subchapter and stat12 ing the respects in which it fails to do so.

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

14 (2), the Secretary shall consider the matter, and if the Sec15 retary determines to proceed with the proposed agreement,

16 the Secretary shall respond with particularity to the state17 ments presented in that notice.

18 ‘‘(4) Within 15 working days following the Secretary’s

19 response provided pursuant to paragraph (3), the employee

20 or representative of employees shall, upon a request to the

21 Commission, have the right to a hearing as to whether adop22 tion of the proposed agreement would effectuate the purposes

23 of this subchapter, including a determination as to whether

24 the proposed agreement would adequately abate the alleged

25 violations.
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1 ‘‘(5) If the Commission determines that a proposed

2 agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of this subchapter,

3 the proposed agreement shall not be entered as an order of

4 the Commission and the citation shall not be withdrawn

5 or modified in accordance with the proposed agreement.

6 ‘‘(f) To the extent applicable, the provisions of section

7 12 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 shall

8 govern proceedings before the Commission under this sub9 chapter.

10 ‘‘§ 7918a. Judicial review

11 ‘‘(a) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by an

12 order of the Commission issued under subsection (c) of sec13 tion 7918 may obtain a review of such order in any United

14 States court of appeals for the circuit in which the violation

15 is alleged to have occurred or where the agency has its prin16 cipal office, or in the Court of Appeals for the District of

17 Columbia Circuit, by filing in such court within 60 days

18 following the issuance of such order a written petition pray19 ing that the order be modified or set aside. A copy of such

20 petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the

21 court to the Commission and to the other parties, and there22 upon the Commission shall file in the court the record in

23 the proceeding as provided in section 2112 of title 28. Upon

24 such filing, the court shall have jurisdiction of the proceed25 ing and of the question determined therein, and shall have
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1 power to grant such temporary relief or restraining order

2 as it deems just and proper, and to make and enter upon

3 the pleadings, testimony, and proceedings set forth in such

4 record a decree affirming, modifying, or setting aside in

5 whole or in part, the order of the Commission and enforcing

6 the same to the extent that such order is affirmed or modi7 fied. The commencement of proceedings under this sub8 section shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate as

9 a stay of the order of the Commission. No objection that

10 has not been urged before the Commission shall be consid11 ered by the court, unless the failure or neglect to urge such

12 objection shall be excused because of extraordinary cir13 cumstances. The findings of the Commission with respect

14 to questions of fact, if supported by substantial evidence on

15 the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive. If any

16 party shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional

17 evidence and shall show to the satisfaction of the court that

18 such additional evidence is material and that there were

19 reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence

20 in the hearing before the Commission, the court may order

21 such additional evidence to be taken before the Commission

22 and to be made a part of the record. The Commission may

23 modify its findings as to the facts, or make new findings,

24 by reason of additional evidence so taken and filed, and

25 it shall file such modified or new findings, which findings
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1 with respect to questions of fact, if supported by substantial

2 evidence on the record considered as a whole, shall be con3 clusive, and its recommendations, if any, for the modifica4 tion or setting aside of its original order. Upon the filing

5 of the record with it, the jurisdiction of the court shall be

6 exclusive and its judgment and decree shall be final, except

7 that the same shall be subject to review by the Supreme

8 Court of the United States, as provided in section 1254 of

9 title 28. Petitions filed under this subsection shall be heard

10 expeditiously.

11 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may also obtain review or enforce12 ment of any final order of the Commission by filing a peti13 tion for such relief in the United States court of appeals

14 for the circuit in which the alleged violation occurred or

15 in which the agency has its principal office, and the provi16 sions of subsection (a) shall govern such proceedings to the

17 extent applicable. If no petition for review, as provided in

18 subsection (a), is filed within 60 days after service of the

19 Commission’s order, the Commission’s findings of fact and

20 order shall be conclusive in connection with any petition

21 for enforcement which is filed by the Secretary after the ex22 piration of such 60-day period. In any such case, as well

23 as in the case of a noncontested citation or notification by

24 the Secretary which has become a final order of the Com25 mission under subsection (a) or (b) of section 7918, the clerk
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1 of the court, unless otherwise ordered by the court, shall

2 forthwith enter a decree enforcing the order and shall trans3 mit a copy of such decree to the Secretary and the agency

4 named in the petition. In any contempt proceeding brought

5 to enforce a decree of a court of appeals entered pursuant

6 to this subsection or subsection (a), the court of appeals may

7 assess the penalties provided in section 7918e, in addition

8 to invoking any other available remedies.

9 ‘‘(c) For the purpose of this section, the term ‘person’

10 includes an agency.

11 ‘‘§ 7918b. Procedures to counteract imminent dangers

12 ‘‘(a)(1) If the Secretary determines, on the basis of an

13 inspection or investigation under this subchapter, that a

14 condition or practice in a place of employment is such that

15 an imminent danger to safety or health exists that could

16 reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical

17 harm or permanent impairment to the health or functional

18 capacity of employees if not corrected immediately or before

19 the imminence of such danger can be eliminated through

20 the enforcement procedures otherwise required by this sub21 chapter, the Secretary shall so inform the agency and af22 fected employees and representatives of affected employees,

23 and shall request that the condition or practice be corrected

24 immediately or that employees be immediately removed

25 from exposure to such danger. The Secretary shall not pre-
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1 vent the continued activity of employees, whose presence is

2 necessary to avoid, correct, or remove such imminent dan3 ger or maintain the capacity of a continuous process oper4 ation, to resume normal operations without a complete ces5 sation of operations or, where a cessation of operations is

6 necessary, to permit such to be accomplished in a safe and

7 orderly manner.

8 ‘‘(2) If the agency refuses to comply with the request

9 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall immediately cause

10 notice to be posted in the workplace identifying the equip11 ment, process, or practice that is the source of the imminent

12 danger. Such notice shall take the form of a tag or other

13 device that will be seen by employees who might otherwise

14 be exposed to the dangerous equipment, process, or practice.

15 The notice shall be removed only by the Secretary.

16 ‘‘(3) The fact that notice under paragraph (2) has been

17 posted shall be noted in any citation issued pursuant to

18 section 7917 with respect to the hazard involved.

19 ‘‘(4) No person shall discharge or in any manner dis20 criminate against any employee because such employee has

21 refused to perform a duty that has been identified as the

22 source of an imminent danger by a notice posted pursuant

23 to paragraph (2). The right to refuse to perform such a duty

24 shall be in addition to any other right to refuse to perform

25 hazardous work that is afforded to employees by this sub-
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1 chapter, by standards or regulations issued pursuant to this

2 subchapter, by contract, or by other applicable law.

3 ‘‘(b) The United States district courts shall have juris4 diction, upon petition of the Secretary, to restrain any con5 ditions or practices in any place of employment which pose

6 an imminent danger as described in subsection (a) and to

7 impose the penalty described in section 7918e(e). Any order

8 issued under this section may require such steps to be taken

9 as may be necessary to avoid, correct, or remove such immi10 nent danger and prohibit the employment or presence of

11 any individual in locations or under conditions where such

12 imminent danger exists, except individuals whose presence

13 is necessary to avoid, correct, or remove such imminent

14 danger or to maintain the capacity of a continuous process

15 operation to resume normal operations without a complete

16 cessation of operations, or where a cessation of operations

17 is necessary, to permit such to be accomplished in a safe

18 and orderly manner.

19 ‘‘(c) Upon the filing of any such petition, the district

20 court shall have jurisdiction to grant such injunctive relief

21 or temporary restraining order pending the outcome of an

22 enforcement proceeding pursuant to this subchapter. The

23 proceeding shall be as provided by Rule 65 of the Federal

24 Rules of Civil Procedure, except that no temporary restrain-
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1 ing order issued without notice shall be effective for a period

2 longer than 5 days.

3 ‘‘(d) If the Secretary arbitrarily or capriciously fails

4 to seek relief under this section, any employee who may be

5 injured by reason of such failure, or the representative of

6 such employees, may bring an action against the Secretary

7 in the United States district court for the district in which

8 the imminent danger is alleged to exist or the agency has

9 its principal office, or for the District of Columbia, for a

10 writ of mandamus to compel the Secretary to seek such an

11 order and for such further relief as may be appropriate.

12 ‘‘§ 7918c. Representation in civil litigation

13 ‘‘Except as provided in section 518(a) of title 28, relat14 ing to litigation before the Supreme Court, the Solicitor of

15 Labor may appear for and represent the Secretary in any

16 civil litigation brought under this subchapter, but all such

17 litigation shall be subject to the direction and control of

18 the Attorney General.

19 ‘‘§ 7918d. Variations, tolerances, and exemptions

20 ‘‘The Secretary, on the record, after notice and oppor21 tunity for a hearing, may provide such reasonable limita22 tions and may make such rules and regulations allowing

23 reasonable variations, tolerances, and exemptions to and

24 from any or all provisions of this subchapter and section

25 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 as
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1 the Secretary may find necessary and proper to avoid seri2 ous impairment of the national defense. Such action shall

3 not be in effect for more than 6 months without notification

4 to affected employees and an opportunity being afforded for

5 a hearing.

6 ‘‘§ 7918e. Penalties

7 ‘‘(a) Any agency that willfully or repeatedly violates

8 the requirements of section 7912, 7913, 7914, or 7915 of

9 this title, of any standard, rule, or order prescribed pursu10 ant to section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

11 of 1970, or of any regulation prescribed pursuant to this

12 subchapter, may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than

13 $70,000 for each violation, but not less than $5,000 for each

14 willful violation.

15 ‘‘(b) Any agency that has received a citation for a seri16 ous violation of the requirements of section 7912, 7913,

17 7914, or 7915 of this title, of any standard, rule, or order

18 prescribed pursuant to section 6 of the Occupational Safety

19 and Health Act of 1970, or of any regulation prescribed

20 pursuant to this subchapter, shall be assessed a civil penalty

21 of up to $7,000 for each such violation. The penalty for

22 a serious violation shall be at least $1,000.

23 ‘‘(c) Any agency that has received a citation for a vio24 lation of the requirements of section 7912, 7913, 7914, or

25 7915 of this title, of any standard, rule, or order promul-
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1 gated pursuant to section 6 of the Occupational Safety and

2 Health Act of 1970, or of any regulation prescribed pursu3 ant to this subchapter, and which violation is specifically

4 determined not to be of a serious nature, may be assessed

5 a civil penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation.

6 ‘‘(d) Any agency that unreasonably fails to correct a

7 violation for which a citation has been issued under section

8 7917(a) within the period permitted for its correction

9 (which period for other than serious violations shall not

10 begin to run until the date of the final order of the Commis11 sion in the case of any review proceeding under section

12 7918 initiated by the agency in good faith and not solely

13 for delay or avoidance of penalties), shall be assessed a civil

14 penalty of not more than $7,000 for each day during which

15 such failure or violation continues.

16 ‘‘(e) In the event that an agency does not immediately

17 correct a hazard referenced in a notice posted under section

18 7918b(a) or remove all employees from exposure thereto, the

19 agency shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than

20 $10,000 and not more than $50,000 for each day during

21 which an employee continues to be exposed to the hazard

22 unless the Commission or the district court determines the

23 condition or practice is not of such nature as to be covered

24 by section 7918b.
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1 ‘‘(f) Any agency that violates any of the posting re2 quirements, as prescribed under the provisions of this sub3 chapter, shall be assessed a civil penalty of up to $7,000

4 for each violation.

5 ‘‘(g) Any agency that makes any written misrepresen6 tation to the Secretary regarding compliance with this sub7 chapter, any standard, rule, or order promulgated under

8 section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of

9 1970, or any regulation prescribed pursuant to this sub10 chapter may be assessed a civil money penalty of up to

11 $70,000 for each such misrepresentation.

12 ‘‘(h) Any agency officer, management official, or su13 pervisor having the authority to prevent the violation of

14 any standard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to sec15 tion 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

16 or of any regulation prescribed pursuant to this subchapter

17 who willfully violates any such standard, rule, order, or reg18 ulation, and which violation caused the death of any em19 ployee, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine in ac20 cordance with section 3571 of title 18 or by imprisonment

21 for not more than 10 years, or by both, except that if the

22 conviction is for a violation committed after a first convic23 tion of such person, punishment shall be by a fine in accord24 ance with section 3571 of title 18, or by imprisonment for

25 not more than 20 years, or by both.
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1 ‘‘(i) Any person who gives advance notice of any in2 spection to be conducted by the Secretary or a representative

3 of the Secretary under this subchapter, without authority

4 from the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee, shall, upon

5 conviction, be punished by a fine in accordance with section

6 3571 of title 18, or by imprisonment for not more than 2

7 years, or by both.

8 ‘‘(j) Whoever knowingly makes any false statement,

9 representation, or certification in any application, record,

10 report, plan, or other document filed or required to be main11 tained pursuant to this subchapter shall, upon conviction,

12 be punished by a fine in accordance with section 3571 of

13 title 18, or by imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or

14 by both.

15 ‘‘(k)(1) Any agency officer, management official, or su16 pervisor having the authority to prevent the violation of

17 any standard, rule, or order promulgated pursuant to sec18 tion 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

19 or of any regulation prescribed pursuant to this subchapter

20 who willfully violates any such standard, rule, order, or reg21 ulation, and which violation causes serious bodily injury

22 to any employee but does not cause the death of any em23 ployee, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine in ac24 cordance with section 3571 of title 18, or by imprisonment

25 for not more than 5 years, or by both, except that if the
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1 conviction is for a violation committed after a first convic2 tion of such person under this subsection or subsection (g),

3 punishment shall be by a fine in accordance with section

4 3571 of title 18, or by imprisonment for not more than 10

5 years, or by both.

6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘serious bodily injury’ means bodily in7 jury that involves—

8 ‘‘(A) a substantial risk of death;

9 ‘‘(B) protracted, substantial, and obvious phys10 ical disfigurement; or

11 ‘‘(C) protracted loss or impairment of the func12 tion of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.

13 ‘‘(l) The Commission shall have authority to assess all

14 civil penalties provided in this section, giving due consider15 ation to the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to

16 the gravity of the violation, the good faith of the agency,

17 and the history of previous violations.

18 ‘‘(m) For purposes of this section, a serious violation

19 shall be deemed to exist in a place of employment if there

20 is a substantial probability that death or serious physical

21 harm could result from a condition which exists, or from

22 one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or proc23 esses which have been adopted or are in use in such place

24 of employment unless the agency did not, and could not
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1 with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of the pres2 ence of the violation.

3 ‘‘(n) Penalties owed under this subchapter shall be

4 paid to the Secretary for deposit into the Secretary’s pen5 alty fund established under section 7924. If necessary in

6 order to recover any such penalties owed, an action shall

7 be brought in the name of the United States in the United

8 States district court for the district where the violation is

9 alleged to have occurred or where the agency has its prin10 cipal office.

11 ‘‘(o) Nothing in this subchapter shall preclude State

12 and local law enforcement agencies from conducting crimi13 nal prosecutions in accordance with the laws of such State

14 or locality.

15 ‘‘(p) It is the sense of the Congress that no agency

16 should pay any fine under this subchapter out of any funds

17 appropriated for employee salaries or expenses.

18 ‘‘(q) If a penalty or fine is imposed on any agency

19 officer, management official, supervisor or employee under

20 subsection (h), (i), (j), or (k), such penalty or fine shall not

21 be paid by the agency on behalf of that individual.

22 ‘‘§ 7919. Special Federal enforcement procedure

23 ‘‘Any employee, or the representative of such employ24 ees, who may be adversely affected by a failure of an agency

25 or the Secretary to carry out any duty under this sub-
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1 chapter, may bring an action in the United States district

2 court for the district in which such failure is alleged to have

3 occurred or the agency has its principal place of business,

4 or for the District of Columbia, to compel such agency or

5 the Secretary to carry out such duty and for such further

6 relief as may be appropriate. If the employee, or the rep7 resentative of such employees, prevails in an action brought

8 under this section, the court in such action shall assess the

9 defendants in the action a reasonable attorney’s fee and

10 other litigation costs reasonably incurred by the employee

11 or representative of an employee.

12 ‘‘§ 7919a. Federal Advisory Council on Occupational

13 Safety and Health

14 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall establish a Federal Advisory

15 Council on Occupational Safety and Health to advise the

16 Secretary in carrying out responsibilities under this sub17 chapter. The Council shall consist of 16 members appointed

18 by the Secretary, of whom 8 shall be representatives of Fed19 eral agencies and 8 shall be representatives of labor organi20 zations representing Federal employees. The members shall

21 serve 3-year terms with the terms of 5 or 6 members expir22 ing each year. The members serving on the Council estab23 lished pursuant to Executive Order 12196 on the effective

24 date of this subchapter shall be deemed its initial members
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1 and their terms shall expire in accordance with the terms

2 of their appointment.

3 ‘‘(b) The Secretary, or a designee, shall serve as the

4 Chairman of the Council, and shall prescribe rules for the

5 conduct of its business.

6 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall make available necessary of7 fice space and furnish the Council necessary equipment,

8 supplies, and staff services, and shall perform such func9 tions with respect to the Council as may be required by

10 the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

11 ‘‘§ 7920. Facilities provided to federal agencies

12 ‘‘(a) The Administrator of General Services shall not

13 provide any agency with space that contains any hazards

14 or conditions that violate this subchapter or section 6 of

15 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

16 ‘‘(b) The Administrator of General Services shall in17 vestigate, upon request of an agency, any report of unsafe

18 or unhealthy conditions within the scope of the Administra19 tor’s responsibility in a facility provided by the Adminis20 trator. The Administrator shall abate any unsafe or

21 unhealthy condition disclosed by such an investigation or

22 submit to the agency a plan to abate such unsafe or

23 unhealthy condition.

24 ‘‘(c) The Administrator of General Services shall

25 maintain a log of any report by an agency of any unsafe
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1 or unhealthy condition in a building occupied by the agency

2 and provided by the Administrator. Any person who leases

3 a building to an agency, whether under the direction of the

4 Administrator or under direct negotiation with the agency,

5 shall also maintain such a log.

6 ‘‘(d) Any lease of a building to an agency which is

7 entered into by a private person under the direction of the

8 Administrator of General Services or under direct negotia9 tion with an agency shall be subject to the requirements of

10 this section and section 6 of the Occupational Safety and

11 Health Act of 1970.

12 ‘‘§ 7921. Annual report

13 ‘‘Within 60 days following the convening of each regu14 lar session of each Congress, the Secretary shall prepare and

15 submit to the President for transmittal to the Congress a

16 report upon the subject matter of this subchapter, the

17 progress toward achievement of the purpose of this sub18 chapter, the results of the agency evaluations conducted

19 under section 7914(e), and any other relevant information.

20 ‘‘§ 7922. Antidiscrimination protection

21 ‘‘(a) No person shall discharge, discipline, or in any

22 manner discriminate against any employee because such

23 employee (or any person acting on behalf of the employee)

24 has filed any complaint or caused to be instituted any pro25 ceeding under or relating to this subchapter, or has testified
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1 or is about to testify in any such proceeding or because of

2 the exercise by such employee on behalf of that employee

3 or other employees of any right afforded by this subchapter,

4 including reporting any injury, illness or unsafe or

5 unhealthy condition to the head of the agency, any designee

6 of the head of the agency, or safety and health committee.

7 ‘‘(b) No person shall discharge, discipline, or in any

8 manner discriminate against an employee for refusing to

9 perform the employee’s duties when the employee has a rea10 sonable apprehension that performing such duties would re11 sult in serious injury to the employee or other employees.

12 The circumstances causing the employee’s apprehension of

13 serious injury must be of such a nature that a reasonable

14 person, under the circumstances then confronting the em15 ployee, would conclude that there is a bona fide danger of

16 an injury or serious impairment of health resulting from

17 the circumstances. In order to qualify for protection under

18 this subsection, the employee, when practicable, must have

19 sought from the employee’s agency, and have been unable

20 to obtain, correction of the circumstances causing the re21 fusal to perform the employee’s duties.

22 ‘‘(c) Any employee who believes that the employee has

23 been discharged, disciplined, or otherwise discriminated

24 against by any person in violation of subsection (a) or (b)

25 may, within 180 days after such alleged violation occurs,
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1 file (or have filed by any person on the employee’s behalf)

2 a complaint with the Secretary alleging such discharge, dis3 cipline, or discrimination violates subsection (a) or (b).

4 Upon receipt of such a complaint, the Secretary shall notify

5 the person named in the complaint of the filing of the com6 plaint.

7 ‘‘(d)(1)(A) Within 60 days of receipt of a complaint

8 filed under subsection (c), the Secretary shall conduct an

9 investigation and determine whether there is reasonable

10 cause to believe that the complaint has merit. During the

11 investigation, the Secretary shall notify the respondent to

12 the complaint of the charges made in the complaint, shall

13 provide the respondent with an opportunity to meet the in14 vestigator conducting the investigation, to submit a re15 sponse to such charges, and to present witneses to rebut such

16 charges. The Secretary shall also consider the result of any

17 collectively bargained grievance proceeding which may have

18 been held with respect to such charges. Upon completion of

19 the investigation, the Secretary shall notify the complain20 ant and the respondent to the complaint of the Secretary’s

21 findings. Where the Secretary has concluded that there is

22 reasonable cause to believe that a violation has occurred,

23 the Secretary’s findings shall be accompanied by a prelimi24 nary order providing the relief prescribed by paragraph (2).
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1 ‘‘(B) After the Secretary has made findings, either the

2 person alleged to have committed the violation or the com3 plainant may, within 30 days, file objections to the findings

4 or preliminary order, or both, and request a hearing on

5 the record, except that the filing of such objections shall not

6 operate to stay any reinstatement remedy contained in the

7 preliminary order. If the Secretary does not issue findings

8 with respect to a complaint within 90 days of the receipt

9 of the complaint, the complainant may request a hearing

10 on the record on the complaint.

11 ‘‘(C) A hearing requested under clause (B) shall be ex12 peditiously conducted. Where a hearing is not timely re13 quested, the preliminary order shall be deemed a final order

14 which is not subject to judicial review. Upon the conclusion

15 of such hearing, the Secretary shall issue a final order with16 in 120 days. In the interim, such proceedings may be termi17 nated at any time on the basis of a settlement agreement

18 entered into by the Secretary, the complainant, and the per19 son alleged to have committed the violation.

20 ‘‘(2) If, in response to a complaint filed under sub21 section (c), the Secretary determines that a violation of sub22 section (a) or (b) has occurred, the Secretary shall order—

23 ‘‘(A) the person who committed such violation to

24 correct the violation,
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1 ‘‘(B) such person to reinstate the complainant to

2 the complainant’s former position together with the

3 compensation (including back pay), terms, conditions,

4 and privileges of the complainant’s employment, and

5 ‘‘(C) compensatory damages.

6 If such an order is issued, the Secretary, at the request of

7 the complainant, may assess against the person against

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

9 amount of all costs and expenses (including attorney’s fees)

10 reasonably incurred, as determined by the Secretary, by the

11 complainant for, or in connection with, the bringing of the

12 complaint upon which the order was issued.

13 ‘‘(e)(1) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by

14 an order issued after a hearing under subsection (d)(1) may

15 obtain review of the order in the United States Court of

16 Appeals for the circuit in which the violation, with respect

17 to which the order was issued, allegedly occurred, or the

18 circuit in which such person resided on the date of such

19 violation. The petition for review must be filed within 60

20 days from the issuance of the Secretary’s order. Such review

21 shall be in accordance with the provisions of chapter 7 of

22 this title, and shall be heard and decided expeditiously.

23 ‘‘(2) Whenever a person has failed to comply with an

24 order issued under subsection (d)(1), the Secretary shall file

25 a civil action in the United States district court for the
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1 district in which the violation was found to occur in order

2 to enforce such order. In actions brought under this para3 graph, the district court shall have jurisdiction to grant all

4 appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, reinstate5 ment, and compensatory damages.

6 ‘‘(f) In determining whether a violation of subsection

7 (a) or (b) has occurred, the legal burdens of proof are as

8 follows:

9 ‘‘(1) A violation of subsection (a) or (b) may be

10 determined to have occurred only if the complainant

11 demonstrates that the exercise of a right protected by

12 such subsection was a contributing factor in the dis13 charge or discrimination alleged in the complaint.

14 ‘‘(2) Relief may not be ordered if the person

15 named in the complaint demonstrates by clear and

16 convincing evidence that the person would have taken

17 the same unfavorable action against the complainant

18 in the absence of the complainant’s exercise of such

19 protected rights.

20 ‘‘(g) The discharge, discipline, or other discrimination

21 alleged to have occurred in violation of subsection (a) or

22 (b) shall not be considered a prohibited personnel practice.

23 ‘‘§ 7923. Victims’ rights

24 ‘‘(a) For purposes of this section, the term ‘victim’

25 means—
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1 ‘‘(1) an employee who has sustained a work-re2 lated injury or illness which is the subject of an in3 spection or investigation conducted under section

4 7916; and

5 ‘‘(2) a family member of an employee if the em6 ployee—

7 ‘‘(A) is killed as a result of work-related in8 jury or illness which is the subject of an inspec9 tion or investigation (conducted under section

10 7916) into a death or serious incident; or

11 ‘‘(B) sustains a work-related injury which

12 is the subject of an inspection or investigation

13 (conducted under section 7916) into a death or

14 serious incident and the employee cannot reason15 ably exercise the employee’s rights under this sec16 tion.

17 ‘‘(b) On request, a victim shall be afforded the right,

18 with respect to the work-related injury, illness, or death re19 ferred to in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), as appli20 cable—

21 ‘‘(1) to meet with the Secretary or an authorized

22 representative of the Secretary respecting the inspec23 tion or investigation conducted under section 7916

24 with respect to such injury, illness, or death, before
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1 the Secretary’s decision to issue a citation or to take

2 no action; and

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

4 or report issued as a result of such inspection or in5 vestigation on the date the citation or report is issued,

6 and to be informed of any notice of contest filed under

7 section 7917.

8 ‘‘(c) Before entering into an agreement to withdraw

9 or modify a citation issued as a result of an inspection or

10 investigation of a death or serious incident under section

11 7916, the Secretary, on request, shall provide an oppor12 tunity to the victim involved to appear and make a state13 ment before the parties conducting any settlement negotia14 tions.

15 ‘‘(d) The Secretary shall take reasonable actions to in16 form victims of their rights under this section.

17 ‘‘§ 7924. Fund for technical assistance and training to

18 agencies and employees

19 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall develop and widely dissemi20 nate technical assistance materials to assist agencies in

21 complying with the requirements of this subchapter and sec22 tion 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

23 The Secretary shall develop, as appropriate—

24 ‘‘(1) fact sheets and other technical assistance to

25 educate agencies and employees as to the requirements
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1 of this subchapter and section 6 of the Occupational

2 Safety and Health Act of 1970,

3 ‘‘(2) model training curricula and model safety

4 and health programs to assist agencies in complying

5 with the requirements of section 7914, and

6 ‘‘(3) guidelines for complying with the require7 ments for safety and health committees under section

8 7915.

9 The Secretary may develop these materials directly or by

10 grant or contract. Such materials shall be written so that

11 they may be readily understood by agency managers and

12 employees.

13 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall establish and implement a

14 program to provide education and technical assistance for

15 agencies and employees, either directly or by grant or con16 tract, concerning worksite safety and health and compliance

17 with this subchapter and section 6 of the Occupational Safe18 ty and Health Act of 1970.

19 ‘‘(c) There is established in the Treasury of the United

20 States an account to be known as the Federal Occupational

21 Safety and Health Training Fund (hereinafter in this sub22 chapter referred to as the ‘Fund’). The Fund, and any

23 amounts deposited in it, including any interest earned

24 thereon, shall be available to the Secretary to pay the costs

25 of implementing subsections (a) and (b).
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1 ‘‘(d) Amounts in the Fund which are not currently

2 needed for the purpose of this section shall be kept on deposit

3 or invested in obligations of, or guaranteed by, the United

4 States and all earnings on such investments shall be depos5 ited in the Fund.

6 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on

7 Post Office and Civil Service of the House of Representa8 tives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the

9 Senate, not later than 4 months after the end of each fiscal

10 year, a report on the financial condition, uses, and oper11 ation of the Fund during the preceding fiscal year. The re12 port shall include a listing, by agency, of civil penalties

13 proposed in citations to the agency, contained in final or14 ders of the Commission, and paid into the Fund.

15 ‘‘§ 7925. Program on ergonomic hazards

16 ‘‘(a) Within 1 year of the date of enactment of this

17 subchapter, each agency, with the assistance of the Sec18 retary, shall develop and implement a program, in con19 sultation with employees or exclusive representatives of such

20 employees, to protect employees from work-related musculo21 skeletal disorders. The program shall include requirements

22 for—

23 ‘‘(1) evaluation of job processes, work station de24 sign, rate of work, and work methods to identify
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1 ergonomic risk factors that cause or are likely to

2 cause musculoskeletal disorders;

3 ‘‘(2) control measures to reduce stressors and

4 musculoskeletal disorders, including engineering con5 trols, new equipment, or work organization controls;

6 ‘‘(3) an effective medical management program

7 for musculoskeletal disorders, including requirements

8 for qualified health care providers, health surveil9 lance, appropriate diagnosis, treatment, and follow

10 up;

11 ‘‘(4) a system for recording musculoskeletal dis12 orders and reporting such disorders to the Secretary;

13 ‘‘(5) training and education of employees ex14 posed to ergonomic hazards on ergonomic risk factors,

15 control measures, and the agency’s medical manage16 ment program; and

17 ‘‘(6) employee participation in the establishment

18 and implementation of the agency’s ergonomic pro19 gram through any safety and health committee estab20 lished under section 7915.

21 ‘‘(b) The requirements of subsection (a) shall not affect

22 an agency’s responsibility or obligation to comply with any

23 standard on ergonomic hazards which may be issued by the

24 Secretary in accordance with section 6 of the Occupational

25 Safety and Health Act of 1970.
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1 ‘‘§ 7926. Incentives for exemplary performance

2 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall target enforcement efforts on

3 agency worksites with poor safety and health performance

4 and shall encourage, through the program established under

5 subsection (c), exemplary safety and health performance.

6 ‘‘(b) In carrying out the inspection authority under

7 section 7916, the Secretary shall establish an effective sys8 tem for targeting inspections of worksites, especially work9 sites with a high potential for death, serious injury, or expo10 sure to toxic materials or harmful physical agents, and

11 shall establish priorities for such inspections to ensure that

12 enforcement activities are concentrated on such worksites.

13 All such targeted inspections shall include evaluation of the

14 agency’s compliance with the requirements, under sections

15 7914 and 7915, for safety and health programs and safety

16 and health committees in each worksite and shall include

17 review of the agency’s self-evaluations described in annual

18 reports to the Secretary as required by section 7914(e), to

19 the extent they are applicable to the worksite being in20 spected.

21 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall establish a safety and health

22 incentive program to recognize safety and health perform23 ance by agencies and agency worksites that exceed the re24 quirements of this subchapter and section 6 of the Occupa25 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970. The safety and health

26 incentive program shall provide positive incentives for
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1 agencies to encourage them to exceed the minimum require2 ments of this subchapter and section 6 of the Occupational

3 Safety and Health Act of 1970. Such incentives may in4 clude, but not be limited to—

5 ‘‘(1) consideration of the overall safety and

6 health performance of an agency participating in the

7 safety and health incentive program in assessing pen8 alties in section 7918e; and

9 ‘‘(2) such other incentives as the Secretary may

10 designate, but the Secretary shall not be authorized to

11 exempt agencies participating in the safety and

12 health incentive program from policies and programs

13 to administer this subchapter and section 6 of the Oc14 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

15 ‘‘(d) The Secretary shall establish a program under

16 which the Secretary may annually recognize agencies and

17 agency worksites with outstanding safety and health records

18 by presenting such agencies and worksites with a safety and

19 health excellence award. The Secretary may annually recog20 nize other organizations through the presentation of such

21 awards in recognition of the outstanding efforts of such or22 ganization to promote occupational safety and health.

23 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to im24 plement this section. Such regulations shall include defining

25 the qualifications necessary for an agency worksite to be
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1 eligible to participate in the safety and health incentive

2 program provided in subsection (c) and the frequency with

3 which a worksite’s eligibility for the safety and health in4 centive program shall be reevaluated.

5 ‘‘§ 7927. Effective dates

6 ‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), this sub7 chapter shall take effect upon the expiration of the 90-day

8 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this sub9 chapter.

10 ‘‘(b) Effective upon the expiration of the 2-year period

11 beginning on the date of the enactment of this subchapter—

12 ‘‘(1) agencies shall be required to comply with

13 the requirements of sections 7914 and 7915 of this

14 title; and

15 ‘‘(2) section 19 of the Occupational Safety and

16 Health Act of 1970 shall be repealed.

17 ‘‘§ 7928. Military equipment, systems, and operations

18 ‘‘(a) Nothing in this subchapter shall apply to working

19 conditions involving uniquely military equipment, systems,

20 and operations, as defined for purposes of this section in

21 regulations prescribed by the Secretary (in consultation

22 with the Secretary of Defense).

23 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as

24 altering or otherwise affecting any authority under Execu-
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1 tive Order 12344 and section 1634 of Public Law 98-525,

2 to the extent available as of January 1, 1994.

3 ‘‘§ 7929. Promulgation of standards; variances

4 ‘‘(a) EMPLOYEES.—Employees shall, for purposes of

5 the provisions of sections 6 and 7 (a) and (b) of the Occupa6 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970, be afforded the same

7 rights, protections, and obligations and shall otherwise be

8 treated in the same way as an ‘employee’ under such provi9 sions (including when referred to as a ‘worker’ or ‘person’,

10 or collectively as ‘labor’), to the extent that such provisions

11 relate to the Federal workplace.

12 ‘‘(b) AGENCIES.—Agencies shall, for purposes of the

13 provisions of sections 6 and 7 (a) and (b) of the Occupa14 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970, be afforded the same

15 rights, protections, and obligations and shall otherwise be

16 treated in the same way as an ‘employer’ under such provi17 sions (including when referred to as a ‘person’, or collec18 tively as ‘management’), to the extent that such provisions

19 relate to the Federal workplace, except for purposes of sec20 tion 6(f) of such Act.

21 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe

22 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this sec23 tion.’’.

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections

25 for chapter 79 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting after the chapter heading the fol2 lowing:

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISION’’;

3 (2) by repealing the item relating to section

4 7902; and

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

‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—FEDERAL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

‘‘Sec.

‘‘7911. Definitions; applicability.

‘‘7912. Employee rights and obligations.

‘‘7913. Duties of agencies.

‘‘7914. Safety and health programs.

‘‘7915. Safety and health committees.

‘‘7916. Inspections and investigations by the Secretary.

‘‘7917. Citations.

‘‘7918. Procedure for enforcement.

‘‘7918a. Judicial review.

‘‘7918b. Procedures to counteract imminent dangers.

‘‘7918c. Representation in civil litigation.

‘‘7918d. Variations, tolerances, and exemptions.

‘‘7918e. Penalties.

‘‘7919. Special Federal enforcement procedure.

‘‘7919a. Federal Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health.

‘‘7920. Facilities provided to federal agencies.

‘‘7921. Annual report.

‘‘7922. Antidiscrimination protection.

‘‘7923. Victims’ rights.

‘‘7924. Fund for technical assistance and training to agencies and employees.

‘‘7925. Program on ergonomic hazards.

‘‘7926. Incentives for exemplary performance.

‘‘7927. Effective dates.

‘‘7928. Military equipment, systems, and operations.

‘‘7929. Promulgation of standards; variances.’’.

6 SEC. 3. POSTAL SERVICE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND

7 HEALTH PROGRAMS.

8 (a) PROGRAMS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 10 of title 39, United

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing:
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1 ‘‘§ 1012. Occupational safety and health programs

2 ‘‘(a)(1) Within 1 year after the date of the enactment

3 of this section, the Postal Service, with the assistance of the

4 Secretary of Labor, shall develop and implement a pro5 gram, in consultation with employees or exclusive rep6 resentatives of such employees, to protect deaf and hearing

7 impaired employees from the hazards of smoke or fire, in8 cluding the installation of visual warning devices, as appro9 priate.

10 ‘‘(2) The Postal Service shall submit a written report

11 to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service of the

12 House of Representatives and the Committee on Govern13 mental Affairs of the Senate, not later than 18 months after

14 the date of enactment of this section, on the implementation

15 of this subsection.

16 ‘‘(b)(1) As used in this subsection, ‘major new mecha17 nization, equipment, or technology’ means any major new

18 mechanization, equipment, or technology which, if imple19 mented by the Postal Service, would directly affect—

20 ‘‘(A) the way in which employees of the Postal

21 Service perform their work; or

22 ‘‘(B) their safety or health.

23 ‘‘(2) To the extent practicable, in developing the speci24 fications for any major new mechanization, equipment, or

25 technology, and before awarding any contract for acquisi-
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1 tion for any such mechanization, equipment, or technology,

2 the Postal Service shall—

3 ‘‘(A) provide an opportunity for employees or ex4 clusive representatives of such employees to—

5 ‘‘(i) review the design plans for such mecha6 nization, equipment, or technology to evaluate

7 the likely impact on the occupational safety and

8 health of postal employees; and

9 ‘‘(ii) submit written comments, within 30

10 working days, relating to any safety or health

11 hazards which might result, as well as sugges12 tions on ways to mitigate or eliminate such haz13 ards; and

14 ‘‘(B) review and respond in writing to any com15 ments submitted under subparagraph (A).’’.

16 (2) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for chap17 ter 10 of title 39, United States Code, is amended by

18 adding at the end the following:

‘‘1012. Occupational safety and health programs.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

20 (1) FIRST AMENDMENT.—Effective as of the effec21 tive date set forth in section 7927(a) of title 5, United

22 States Code (as amended by section 2(a)), paragraph

23 (7) of section 410(b) of title 39, United States Code,

24 is amended by striking the semicolon and inserting

25 ‘‘and subchapter II of chapter 79 of title 5;’’.
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1 (2) SECOND AMENDMENT.—Effective as of the ef2 fective date set forth in section 7927(b) of title 5,

3 United States Code (as amended by section 2(a)),

4 paragraph (7) of section 410(b) of title 39, United

5 States Code (as amended by paragraph (1)), is

6 amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(7) subchapter II of chapter 79 of title 5;’’.

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