I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1706 

To authorize the Department of Labor’s voluntary protection program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2023 

Mrs. HARSHBARGER (for herself and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

A BILL 

To authorize the Department of Labor’s voluntary protection 

program. 

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 ‘‘Michael Enzi Vol5 untary Protection Program Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MICHAEL ENZI VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of 

9 Labor shall establish a program of entering into coopera10 tive agreements with employers to encourage the establishVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706

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1 ment of comprehensive safety and health management sys2 tems that include— 

3 (1) requirements for systematic assessment of 

4 hazards; 

5 (2) comprehensive hazard prevention, mitiga6 tion, and control programs; 

7 (3) active and meaningful management and em8 ployee participation in the voluntary program de9 scribed in subsection (b); and 

10 (4) employee safety and health training. 

11 (b) MICHAEL ENZI VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PRO12 GRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor 

15 shall establish and carry out a voluntary protec16 tion program (consistent with subsection (a)) to 

17 encourage excellence and recognize the achieve18 ment of excellence in both the technical and 

19 managerial protection of employees from occu20 pational hazards. 

21 (B) DESIGNATION.—The voluntary protec22 tion program carried out under this section 

23 shall be known as the ‘‘Michael Enzi Voluntary 

24 Protection Program’’ (referred to in this Act as 

25 the ‘‘Program’’). 


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1 (2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Program 

2 shall include the following: 

3 (A) APPLICATION.—Employers who volun4 teer under the Program shall be required to 

5 submit an application to the Secretary of Labor 

6 demonstrating that the worksite with respect to 

7 which the application is made meets such re8 quirements as the Secretary of Labor may re9 quire for participation in the Program. 

10 (B) ONSITE EVALUATIONS.—There shall 

11 be onsite evaluations by representatives of the 

12 Secretary of Labor to ensure a high level of 

13 protection of employees. The onsite visits shall 

14 not result in enforcement of citations under the 

15 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

16 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 

17 (C) INFORMATION.—Employers who are 

18 approved by the Secretary of Labor for partici19 pation in the Program shall assure the Sec20 retary of Labor that information about the 

21 safety and health program shall be made read22 ily available to the Secretary of Labor to share 

23 with employees. 

24 (D) REEVALUATIONS.—Periodic reevalua25 tions by the Secretary of Labor of the employVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706

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1 ers shall be required for continued participation 

2 in the Program. 

3 (3) MONITORING.—To ensure proper controls 

4 and measurement of program performance for the 

5 Program under this section, the Secretary of Labor 

6 shall direct the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Oc7 cupational Safety and Health to take the following 

8 actions: 

9 (A) Develop a documentation policy re10 garding information on follow-up actions taken 

11 by the regional offices of the Occupational Safe12 ty and Health Administration in response to fa13 talities and serious injuries at worksites partici14 pating in the Program. 

15 (B) Establish internal controls that ensure 

16 consistent compliance by the regional offices of 

17 the Occupational Safety and Health Adminis18 tration with the Program policies of the Occu19 pational Safety and Health Administration for 

20 conducting onsite reviews and monitoring injury 

21 and illness rates, to ensure that only qualified 

22 worksites participate in the Program. 

23 (C) Establish a system for monitoring the 

24 performance of the Program by developing speVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706

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1 cific performance goals and measures for the 

2 Program. 

3 (4) EXEMPTIONS.—A site with respect to which 

4 a Program has been approved shall, during partici5 pation in the Program, be exempt from programmed 

6 inspections. 

7 (5) NO PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

8 of Labor shall not require any form of payment for 

9 an employer to qualify or participate in the Pro10 gram. 

11 (c) TRANSITION.—The Secretary of Labor shall take 

12 such steps as may be necessary for the orderly transition 

13 from the cooperative agreements and voluntary protection 

14 programs carried out by the Occupational Safety and 

15 Health Administration as of the day before the date of 

16 enactment of this Act, to the cooperative agreements and 

17 Program authorized under this section. In making such 

18 transition, the Secretary shall ensure that— 

19 (1) the Program authorized under this section 

20 is based upon and consistent with the voluntary pro21 tection programs carried out on the day before the 

22 date of enactment of this Act; and 

23 (2) each employer that, as of the day before the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, had an active coopera25 tive agreement under the voluntary protection proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706

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1 grams carried out by the Occupational Safety and 

2 Health Administration and was in good standing 

3 with respect to the duties and responsibilities under 

4 such agreement, shall have the option to continue 

5 participating in the Program authorized under this 

6 section. 

7 (d) REGULATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION.—Not 

8 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 the Secretary of Labor shall issue final regulations for the 

10 Program authorized under this section and shall begin im11 plementation of the Program. 

12 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

14 this Act such sums as may be necessary. 

Æ 


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