I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2876 

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

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2021 

Mr. COURTNEY (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. LARSON

of Connecticut, Mr. MRVAN, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. DELAURO, 

Mr. SABLAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. OMAR, and 

Ms. SHERRILL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections 

for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity 

violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide 

rights for victims or their family members, and for other 

purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Protecting America’s Workers Act’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES, VOLUNTARY EMERGENCY RESPONDERS, AND APPLICATION OF ACT 

Sec. 101. Coverage of public employees. 

Sec. 102. Authorized employee representatives. 

Sec. 103. Application of Act. 

TITLE II—INCREASING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS 

Sec. 201. Enhanced protections from retaliation. 

TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORTING, INSPECTION, AND 

ENFORCEMENT 

PART A—DUTIES AND STANDARDS

Sec. 301. General duty of employers. 

Sec. 302. Occupational safety and health standards. 

PART B—INSPECTIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND RECORDKEEPING

Sec. 311. Posting of employee rights. 

Sec. 312. Employer reporting of work-related injuries, illness, deaths, and hospitalizations; prohibition on discouraging employee reporting. 

Sec. 313. No loss of employee pay for inspections. 

Sec. 314. Investigations of fatalities and significant incidents. 

Sec. 315. Recordkeeping. 

PART C—CITATIONS

Sec. 321. Period for issuance of a citation. 

Sec. 322. Prohibition on unclassified citations. 

PART D—RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND FAMILIES

Sec. 331. Rights of Victims and Families. 

PART E—PROCEDURE FOR ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 341. Right to contest citations and penalties. 

Sec. 342. Correction of serious, willful, or repeated violations pending contest 

and procedures for a stay. 

Sec. 343. Inaction by the Review Commission. 

Sec. 344. Conforming amendments. 


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PART F—PENALTIES

Sec. 351. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 352. Criminal penalties. 

Sec. 353. Prejudgment interest. 

TITLE IV—STATE PLANS 

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

safety and health plans. 

Sec. 402. Evaluation of repeated violations in State plans. 

TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

AND HEALTH 

Sec. 501. Health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health. 

Sec. 502. Training and employee education. 

TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

Sec. 601. Effective date. 

1 TITLE I—COVERAGE OF PUBLIC 

2 EMPLOYEES, AUTHORIZED 

3 EMPLOYEE REPRESENTA4 TIVES, VOLUNTARY EMER5 GENCY RESPONDERS, AND 

6 APPLICATION OF ACT 

7 SEC. 101. COVERAGE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES. 

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

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

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

11 follows through the period at the end and inserting ‘‘in12 cluding the United States, a State, or a political subdivi13 sion of a State.’’. 

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

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1 cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

2 667). 

3 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES. 

4 Section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

5 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(15) AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEE REPRESENTA8 TIVE.—The term ‘authorized employee representa9 tive’— 

10 ‘‘(A) means any person or organization 

11 that for the purposes of this Act represents not 

12 less than one employee at an establishment, fac13 tory, plant, construction site, or other work14 place, or other environment where work is per15 formed by an employee for an employer; and 

16 ‘‘(B) includes a representative authorized 

17 by employees, a representative of employees, or 

18 any other representative of an employee under 

19 this Act.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. APPLICATION OF ACT. 

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

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

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

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


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

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(1) If a Federal agency has promulgated and is en4 forcing a standard or regulation affecting occupational 

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

6 that agency’s regulatory jurisdiction, and the Secretary 

7 determines that such a standard or regulation as promul8 gated and the manner in which the standard or regulation 

9 is being enforced provides protection to those employees 

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

11 those employees by this Act and the Secretary’s enforce12 ment of this Act, the Secretary may publish a certification 

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

14 that determination and the reasons for the determination 

15 and certify that the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to 

16 that Federal agency with respect to the specified standard 

17 or regulation affecting occupational safety or health. In 

18 determining whether to cede jurisdiction to a Federal 

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

20 and conflicts between, health and safety requirements. 

21 Such certification shall remain in effect unless and until 

22 rescinded by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish pro24 cedures by which any person who may be adversely af25 fected by a decision of the Secretary certifying that the 


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1 Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Federal agency 

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

3 rescind a certification notice under such paragraph. Upon 

4 receipt of such a petition, the Secretary shall investigate 

5 the matter involved and shall, not later than 90 days after 

6 the receipt of the petition, publish a decision with respect 

7 to the petition in the Federal Register. 

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

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

10 the Secretary has ceded jurisdiction to another Fed11 eral agency pursuant to paragraph (1); or 

12 ‘‘(B) a decision of the Secretary denying a peti13 tion to rescind such a certification notice under 

14 paragraph (1), 

15 may, not later than 60 days after such decision is pub16 lished in the Federal Register, file a petition challenging 

17 such decision with the United States Court of Appeals for 

18 the circuit in which such person resides or such person 

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

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

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

22 Secretary’s decision shall be set aside if found to be arbi23 trary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not 

24 in accordance with law. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to working condi2 tions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

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

4 TITLE II—INCREASING 

5 WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS 

6 SEC. 201. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FROM RETALIATION. 

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

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

9 660(c)(1)) is amended— 

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

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

12 ‘‘discharge or cause to be discharged, or in any man13 ner discriminate against or cause to be discriminated 

14 against, any employee because— 

15 ‘‘(A) such’’; 

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

17 the following: ‘‘this Act; 

18 ‘‘(B) such employee has’’; 

19 (3) by striking ‘‘in any such proceeding or be20 cause of the exercise’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘before Congress or in any Federal or State pro22 ceeding related to safety or health; 

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

24 provision of this Act; or 

25 ‘‘(D) of the exercise’’; and 


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

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

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

4 the employer, safety and health committee involved, 

5 or employee safety and health representative in6 volved’’. 

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

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

9 paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATION.—(A) No person 

11 shall discharge, or cause to be discharged, or in any man12 ner discriminate against, or cause to be discriminated 

13 against, an employee for refusing to perform the employ14 ee’s duties if the employee has a reasonable apprehension 

15 that performing such duties would result in serious injury 

16 to, or serious impairment of the health of, the employee 

17 or other employees. 

18 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the cir19 cumstances causing the employee’s good-faith belief that 

20 performing such duties would pose a safety or health haz21 ard shall be of such a nature that a reasonable person, 

22 under the circumstances confronting the employee, would 

23 conclude that there is such a hazard. In order to qualify 

24 for protection under this paragraph, the employee, when 

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1 municate the safety or health concern to the employer and 

2 have not received from the employer a response reasonably 

3 calculated to allay such concern.’’. 

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

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

6 inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) COMPLAINT.—Any employee who believes that 

8 the employee has been discharged, disciplined, or other9 wise discriminated against by any person in violation of 

10 paragraph (1) or (2) may seek relief for such violation 

11 by filing a complaint with the Secretary under paragraph 

12 (5). 

13 ‘‘(4) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

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

15 action permitted by paragraph (3) not later than 

16 180 days after the later of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the date on which an alleged violation 

18 of paragraph (1) or (2) occurs; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the employee knows 

20 or should reasonably have known that such al21 leged violation occurred. 

22 ‘‘(B) REPEAT VIOLATION.—Except in cases 

23 when the employee has been discharged, a violation 

24 of paragraph (1) or (2) shall be considered to have 


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1 occurred on the last date an alleged repeat violation 

2 occurred. 

3 ‘‘(5) INVESTIGATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee may, within 

5 the time period required under paragraph (4)(A), 

6 file a complaint with the Secretary alleging a viola7 tion of paragraph (1) or (2). If the complaint alleges 

8 a prima facie case, the Secretary shall conduct an 

9 investigation of the allegations in the complaint, 

10 which— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall include— 

12 ‘‘(I) interviewing the complainant; 

13 ‘‘(II) providing the respondent an op14 portunity to— 

15 ‘‘(aa) submit to the Secretary a 

16 written response to the complaint; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) meet with the Secretary to 

18 present statements from witnesses or 

19 provide evidence; and 

20 ‘‘(III) providing the complainant an 

21 opportunity to— 

22 ‘‘(aa) receive any statements or 

23 evidence provided to the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(bb) meet with the Secretary; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) rebut any statements or 

2 evidence; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) may include issuing subpoenas for the 

4 purposes of such investigation. 

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

6 the filing of the complaint, the Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) determine whether reasonable cause 

8 exists to believe that a violation of paragraph 

9 (1) or (2) has occurred; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) issue a decision granting or denying 

11 relief. 

12 ‘‘(6) PRELIMINARY ORDER FOLLOWING INVESTIGA13 TION.—If, after completion of an investigation under 

14 paragraph (5)(A), the Secretary finds reasonable cause to 

15 believe that a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) has oc16 curred, the Secretary shall issue a preliminary order pro17 viding relief authorized under paragraph (14) at the same 

18 time the Secretary issues a decision under paragraph 

19 (5)(B). If a de novo hearing is not requested within the 

20 time period required under paragraph (7)(A)(i), such pre21 liminary order shall be deemed a final order of the Sec22 retary and is not subject to judicial review. 

23 ‘‘(7) HEARING.— 

24 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR HEARING.— 


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

2 the record before an administrative law judge 

3 may be requested— 

4 ‘‘(I) by the complainant or respondent 

5 within 30 days after receiving notification 

6 of a decision granting or denying relief 

7 issued under paragraph (5)(B) or a pre8 liminary order under paragraph (6), re9 spectively; 

10 ‘‘(II) by the complainant within 30 

11 days after the date the complaint is dis12 missed without investigation by the Sec13 retary under paragraph (5)(A); or 

14 ‘‘(III) by the complainant within 120 

15 days after the date of filing the complaint, 

16 if the Secretary has not issued a decision 

17 under paragraph (5)(B). 

18 ‘‘(ii) REINSTATEMENT ORDER.—The re19 quest for a hearing shall not operate to stay 

20 any preliminary reinstatement order issued 

21 under paragraph (6). 

22 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A hearing requested 

24 under this paragraph shall be conducted expedi25 tiously and in accordance with rules established 


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1 by the Secretary for hearings conducted by ad2 ministrative law judges. 

3 ‘‘(ii) SUBPOENAS; PRODUCTION OF EVI4 DENCE.—In conducting any such hearing, the 

5 administrative law judge may issue subpoenas. 

6 The respondent or complainant may request the 

7 issuance of subpoenas that require the deposi8 tion of, or the attendance and testimony of, wit9 nesses and the production of any evidence (in10 cluding any books, papers, documents, or re11 cordings) relating to the matter under consider12 ation. 

13 ‘‘(iii) DECISION.—The administrative law 

14 judge shall issue a decision not later than 90 

15 days after the date on which a hearing was re16 quested under this paragraph and promptly no17 tify, in writing, the parties and the Secretary of 

18 such decision, including the findings of fact and 

19 conclusions of law. If the administrative law 

20 judge finds that a violation of paragraph (1) or 

21 (2) has occurred, the judge shall issue an order 

22 for relief under paragraph (14). If review under 

23 paragraph (8) is not timely requested, such 

24 order shall be deemed a final order of the Sec25 retary that is not subject to judicial review. 


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1 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE APPEAL.— 

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

3 after the date of notification of a decision and order 

4 issued by an administrative law judge under para5 graph (7), the complainant or respondent may file, 

6 with objections, an administrative appeal with an ad7 ministrative review body designated by the Secretary 

8 (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘review board’). 

9 ‘‘(B) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In reviewing the 

10 decision and order of the administrative law judge, 

11 the review board shall affirm the decision and order 

12 if it is determined that the factual findings set forth 

13 therein are supported by substantial evidence and 

14 the decision and order are made in accordance with 

15 applicable law. 

16 ‘‘(C) DECISIONS.—If the review board grants 

17 an administrative appeal, the review board shall 

18 issue a final decision and order affirming or revers19 ing, in whole or in part, the decision under review 

20 by not later than 90 days after receipt of the admin21 istrative appeal. If it is determined that a violation 

22 of paragraph (1) or (2) has occurred, the review 

23 board shall issue a final decision and order providing 

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1 sion and order shall constitute final agency action 

2 with respect to the matter appealed. 

3 ‘‘(9) SETTLEMENT IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROC4 ESS.— 

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

6 issuance of a final order, an investigation or pro7 ceeding under this subsection may be terminated on 

8 the basis of a settlement agreement entered into by 

9 the parties. 

10 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.—Nei11 ther the Secretary, an administrative law judge, nor 

12 the review board conducting a hearing under this 

13 subsection shall accept a settlement that contains 

14 conditions conflicting with the rights protected under 

15 this Act or that are contrary to public policy, includ16 ing a restriction on a complainant’s right to future 

17 employment with employers other than the specific 

18 employers named in a complaint. 

19 ‘‘(10) INACTION BY THE REVIEW BOARD OR ADMIN20 ISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.— 

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

22 bring a de novo action described in subparagraph 

23 (B) if— 

24 ‘‘(i) an administrative law judge has not 

25 issued a decision and order within the 90-day 


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1 time period required under paragraph 

2 (7)(B)(iii); or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the review board has not issued a de4 cision and order within the 90-day time period 

5 required under paragraph (8)(C). 

6 ‘‘(B) DE NOVO ACTION.—Such de novo action 

7 may be brought at law or equity in the United 

8 States district court for the district where a violation 

9 of paragraph (1) or (2) allegedly occurred or where 

10 the complainant resided on the date of such alleged 

11 violation. The court shall have jurisdiction over such 

12 action without regard to the amount in controversy 

13 and to order appropriate relief under paragraph 

14 (14). Such action shall, at the request of either 

15 party to such action, be tried by the court with a 

16 jury. 

17 ‘‘(11) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

18 ‘‘(A) TIMELY APPEAL TO THE COURT OF AP19 PEALS.—Any party adversely affected or aggrieved 

20 by a final decision and order issued under this sub21 section may obtain review of such decision and order 

22 in the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit 

23 where the violation, with respect to which such final 

24 decision and order was issued, allegedly occurred or 

25 where the complainant resided on the date of such 


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1 alleged violation. To obtain such review, a party 

2 shall file a petition for review not later than 60 days 

3 after the final decision and order was issued. Such 

4 review shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5, United 

5 States Code. The commencement of proceedings 

6 under this subparagraph shall not, unless ordered by 

7 the court, operate as a stay of the final decision and 

8 order. 

9 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL ATTACK.— 

10 An order and decision with respect to which review 

11 may be obtained under subparagraph (A) shall not 

12 be subject to judicial review in any criminal or other 

13 civil proceeding. 

14 ‘‘(12) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—If a respondent 

15 fails to comply with an order issued under this subsection, 

16 the Secretary or the complainant on whose behalf the 

17 order was issued may file a civil action for enforcement 

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

19 the violation was found to occur to enforce such order. 

20 If both the Secretary and the complainant file such action, 

21 the action of the Secretary shall take precedence. The dis22 trict court shall have jurisdiction to grant all appropriate 

23 relief described in paragraph (14). 

24 ‘‘(13) BURDENS OF PROOF.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION.—In mak2 ing a determination or adjudicating a complaint pur3 suant to this subsection, the Secretary, administra4 tive law judge, review board, or a court may deter5 mine that a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) has oc6 curred only if the complainant demonstrates that 

7 any conduct described in paragraph (1) or (2) with 

8 respect to the complainant was a contributing factor 

9 in the adverse action alleged in the complaint. 

10 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding subpara11 graph (A), a decision or order that is favorable to 

12 the complainant shall not be issued in any adminis13 trative or judicial action pursuant to this subsection 

14 if the respondent demonstrates by clear and con15 vincing evidence that the respondent would have 

16 taken the same adverse action in the absence of such 

17 conduct. 

18 ‘‘(14) RELIEF.— 

19 ‘‘(A) ORDER FOR RELIEF.—If the Secretary, 

20 administrative law judge, review board, or a court 

21 determines that a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) 

22 has occurred, the Secretary, administrative law 

23 judge, review board, or court, respectively, shall have 

24 jurisdiction to order all appropriate relief, including 


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1 injunctive relief, compensatory and exemplary dam2 ages, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) affirmative action to abate the viola4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(ii) reinstatement without loss of position 

6 or seniority, and restoration of the terms, 

7 rights, conditions, and privileges associated with 

8 the complainant’s employment, including oppor9 tunities for promotions to positions with equiva10 lent or better compensation for which the com11 plainant is qualified; 

12 ‘‘(iii) compensatory and consequential 

13 damages sufficient to make the complainant 

14 whole (including back pay, prejudgment inter15 est, and other damages); and 

16 ‘‘(iv) expungement of all warnings, rep17 rimands, or derogatory references that have 

18 been placed in paper or electronic records or 

19 databases of any type relating to the actions by 

20 the complainant that gave rise to the unfavor21 able personnel action, and, at the complainant’s 

22 direction, transmission of a copy of the decision 

23 on the complaint to any person whom the com24 plainant reasonably believes may have received 

25 such unfavorable information. 


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

2 Secretary or an administrative law judge, review 

3 board, or court grants an order for relief under sub4 paragraph (A), the Secretary, administrative law 

5 judge, review board, or court, respectively, shall as6 sess, at the request of the employee against the em7 ployer— 

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

9 ‘‘(ii) costs (including expert witness fees) 

10 reasonably incurred, as determined by the Sec11 retary, administrative law judge, review board, 

12 or court, respectively, in connection with bring13 ing the complaint upon which the order was 

14 issued. 

15 ‘‘(15) PROCEDURAL RIGHTS.—The rights and rem16 edies provided for in this subsection may not be waived 

17 by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employ18 ment, including by any pre-dispute arbitration agreement 

19 or collective bargaining agreement. 

20 ‘‘(16) SAVINGS.—Nothing in this subsection shall be 

21 construed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies 

22 of any employee who exercises rights under any Federal 

23 or State law or common law, or under any collective bar24 gaining agreement. 

25 ‘‘(17) ELECTION OF VENUE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee of an em2 ployer who is located in a State that has a State 

3 plan approved under section 18 may file a complaint 

4 alleging a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) by such 

5 employer with— 

6 ‘‘(i) the Secretary under paragraph (5); or 

7 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator in such 

8 State. 

9 ‘‘(B) REFERRALS.—If— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Secretary receives a complaint 

11 pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary 

12 shall not refer such complaint to a State plan 

13 administrator for resolution; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) a State plan administrator receives a 

15 complaint pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), the 

16 State plan administrator shall not refer such 

17 complaint to the Secretary for resolution.’’. 

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

19 such Act (29 U.S.C. 666(j)) is amended by inserting be20 fore the period the following: ‘‘, including the history of 

21 violations under section 11(c)’’. 


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1 TITLE III—IMPROVING REPORT2 ING, INSPECTION, AND EN3 FORCEMENT 

4 PART A—DUTIES AND STANDARDS 

5 SEC. 301. GENERAL DUTY OF EMPLOYERS. 

6 Section 5 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

7 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 654(a)(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph 

9 (1) to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) shall furnish employment and a place of 

11 employment that are free from recognized hazards 

12 that are causing or are likely to cause death or seri13 ous physical harm and that the employer creates or 

14 controls or to which the employer exposes any em15 ployee of the employer or any other person per16 forming work at the place of employment; and’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(c) Each employee or other person exposed to a haz20 ard in violation of subsection (a) may constitute a separate 

21 violation.’’. 

22 SEC. 302. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STAND23 ARDS. 

24 Section 6 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

25 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘Without regard’’ and in3 serting ‘‘(1) Without regard’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘chapter 5’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘chapters 5 and 6’’; 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘shall, as soon as prac7 ticable’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘shall—’’ 

8 ‘‘(A) as soon as practicable’’; 

9 (D) by striking ‘‘In the’’ and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(2) In the’’; 

12 (E) by striking ‘‘designated employees.’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘designated employees; and’’; 

14 (F) by adding at the end of paragraph (1) 

15 (as designated by subparagraph (A)) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(B) not later than 2 years after the effec18 tive date of section 601(a) of the Protecting 

19 America’s Workers Act, by rule update any na20 tional consensus standard that has been pro21 mulgated or incorporated by reference pursuant 

22 to this subsection, except that such a standard 

23 shall not be updated pursuant to this subpara24 graph, if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the standard has been superseded 

2 by a standard promulgated pursuant to 

3 subsection (b); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines such 

5 update would not result in improved health 

6 or safety for specifically designated em7 ployees.’’; and 

8 (G) in paragraph (2) (as designated by 

9 subparagraph (D)), by inserting ‘‘including na10 tional consensus standards, or in the event of a 

11 consolidation of national consensus standards,’’ 

12 after ‘‘conflict among any such standards,’’; 

13 and 

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

15 ‘‘(h) No standard, rule, or regulation promulgated 

16 under this Act shall reduce the protection afforded by an 

17 existing health or safety standard, rule, regulation, or na18 tional consensus standard.’’. 

19 PART B—INSPECTIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND 

20 RECORDKEEPING 

21 SEC. 311. POSTING OF EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. 

22 Section 8(c)(1) of the Occupational Safety and 

23 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(1)) is amended by 

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


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1 for employees information on the protections afforded 

2 under section 11(c).’’. 

3 SEC. 312. EMPLOYER REPORTING OF WORK-RELATED INJU4 RIES, ILLNESS, DEATHS, AND HOSPITALIZA5 TIONS; PROHIBITION ON DISCOURAGING EM6 PLOYEE REPORTING. 

7 Section 8(c)(2) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657(c)(2)) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such regula9 tions shall contain the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) A requirement that employers promptly 

11 notify the Secretary of any work-related death or 

12 work-related injury or illness that results in the in13 patient hospitalization of any employee for medical 

14 treatment, amputation, or loss of an eye. 

15 ‘‘(B) A prohibition on the adoption or imple16 mentation by employers of policies or practices that 

17 have the effect of discouraging accurate record18 keeping and the reporting of work-related injuries or 

19 illnesses by any employee, or in any manner dis20 criminates or provides for adverse action against any 

21 employee for reporting a work-related injury or ill22 ness. 

23 ‘‘(C) A requirement that, at a minimum, em24 ployers subject to the requirements of sections 

25 1904.41 and 1902.7(d) of title 29, Code of Federal 


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1 Regulations (as amended by the final regulations of 

2 the Department of Labor published in the Federal 

3 Register on May 12, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 29624 et 

4 seq.)) shall, on at least an annual basis, electroni5 cally report to the Secretary information from the 

6 records of work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses 

7 required to be made and maintained under this 

8 paragraph, which shall include the information re9 quired to be made and maintained in accordance 

10 with such sections 1904.41 and 1902.7(d), and a re11 quirement that the Secretary make such reports 

12 available to the public in a searchable format. 

13 ‘‘(D) A requirement that each site-controlling 

14 employer keep, maintain, and make available a site 

15 log for all recordable injuries and illnesses occurring 

16 for any employee at each work site for which the 

17 employer is the site-controlling employer, including 

18 employees of the site-controlling employer and others 

19 who are performing work at such site (including 

20 independent contractors). For purposes of this sub21 paragraph, the term ‘site-controlling employer’ 

22 means the employer that has primary control over a 

23 work site at which employees of more than one em24 ployer work, such as by hiring or coordinating the 

25 work of other employers working at the site.’’. 


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1 SEC. 313. NO LOSS OF EMPLOYEE PAY FOR INSPECTIONS. 

2 Section 8(e) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657(e)) is 

3 amended by inserting after the first sentence the fol4 lowing: ‘‘Time spent by an employee participating in or 

5 aiding any such inspection shall be deemed to be hours 

6 worked and no employee shall suffer any loss of wages, 

7 benefits, or other terms and conditions of employment for 

8 having participated in or aided any such inspection.’’. 

9 SEC. 314. INVESTIGATIONS OF FATALITIES AND SIGNIFI10 CANT INCIDENTS. 

11 Section 8 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 657), as amended 

12 by sections 311 through 313, is further amended by add13 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(i) INVESTIGATION OF FATALITIES AND SERIOUS

15 INCIDENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall inves17 tigate any significant incident or an incident result18 ing in death that occurs in a place of employment. 

19 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE PRESERVATION.—If a signifi20 cant incident or an incident resulting in death oc21 curs in a place of employment, the employer shall 

22 promptly notify the Secretary of the incident in23 volved and shall take appropriate measures to pre24 vent the destruction or alteration of any evidence 

25 that would assist in investigating the incident. The 

26 appropriate measures required by this paragraph do 


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1 not prevent an employer from taking action on a 

2 worksite to prevent injury to employees or substan3 tial damage to property or to avoid disruption of es4 sential services necessary to public safety, provided 

5 that if an employer takes such action, the employer 

6 shall notify the Secretary of the action in a timely 

7 fashion. 

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

9 ‘‘(A) INCIDENT RESULTING IN DEATH.— 

10 The term ‘incident resulting in death’ means an 

11 incident that results in the death of an em12 ployee. 

13 ‘‘(B) SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT.—The term 

14 ‘significant incident’ means an incident that re15 sults in the in-patient hospitalization of 2 or 

16 more employees for medical treatment.’’. 

17 SEC. 315. RECORDKEEPING. 

18 (a) RULE REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Occupational Safety 

20 and Health Administration shall issue a final rule amend21 ing its recordkeeping regulations under section 8(c) of the 

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

23 657(c)) to clarify that— 


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1 (1) the duty to make and maintain accurate 

2 records of work-related injuries and illnesses is an 

3 ongoing obligation; 

4 (2) the duty to make and maintain such records 

5 continues for as long as the employer is required to 

6 keep records of the recordable injury or illness; and 

7 (3) such duty does not expire solely because the 

8 employer fails to create the necessary records when 

9 first required to do so. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (a) shall be consid11 ered a specific authorization by Congress in accordance 

12 with section 801(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, with 

13 respect to the issuance of a new recordkeeping rule. 

14 PART C—CITATIONS 

15 SEC. 321. PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE OF A CITATION. 

16 Section 9(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

17 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658(c)) is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following: ‘‘For purposes of this subsection, 

19 a violation continues to occur for as long as an employer 

20 has not satisfied the requirements, rules, standards, or21 ders, and regulations referenced in subsection (a).’’. 

22 SEC. 322. PROHIBITION ON UNCLASSIFIED CITATIONS. 

23 Section 9 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

24 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 658) is further amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: 


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

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

3 designation enumerated in section 17 with respect to such 

4 violation.’’. 

5 PART D—RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND FAMILIES 

6 SEC. 331. RIGHTS OF VICTIMS AND FAMILIES. 

7 The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

8 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

9 9 (29 U.S.C. 658) the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 9A. VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

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

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

13 with respect to an inspection or investigation conducted 

14 under section 8 to— 

15 ‘‘(1) meet with the Secretary regarding the in16 spection or investigation conducted under such sec17 tion before the Secretary’s decision to issue a cita18 tion or take no action; 

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

20 or report, issued as a result of such inspection or in21 vestigation, at the same time as the employer re22 ceives such citation or report; 

23 ‘‘(3) be informed of any notice of contest or ad24 dition of parties to the proceedings filed under sec25 tion 10(c); and 


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

2 time or any proceedings, service of pleadings, and 

3 other relevant documents, and an explanation of the 

4 rights of the employer, employee and employee rep5 resentative, and victim to participate in proceedings 

6 conducted under section 10(c). 

7 ‘‘(b) RIGHTS BEFORE THE COMMISSION.—Upon re8 quest, a victim or representative of a victim shall be af9 forded the right with respect to a work-related bodily in10 jury or death to— 

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

12 proceeding before the Commission; 

13 ‘‘(2) receive pleadings and any decisions relat14 ing to the proceedings; and 

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

16 make a statement in accordance with the rules pre17 scribed by the Commission. 

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

19 into an agreement to withdraw or modify a citation issued 

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

21 under section 8, the Secretary shall notify a victim or rep22 resentative of a victim and provide the victim or represent23 ative of a victim with an opportunity to appear and make 

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1 ative of the victim may elect to submit a letter to the Sec2 retary and the parties. 

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

4 establish procedures— 

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

6 section; and 

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

8 denial of such a right. 

9 ‘‘(e) COMMISSION PROCEDURES AND CONSIDER10 ATIONS.—The Commission shall— 

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

12 of victims to be heard in proceedings before the 

13 Commission; and 

14 ‘‘(2) in rendering any decision, provide due con15 sideration to any statement or information provided 

16 by any victim before the Commission. 

17 ‘‘(f) FAMILY LIAISONS.—The Secretary shall des18 ignate at least 1 employee at each area office of the Occu19 pational Safety and Health Administration to serve as a 

20 family liaison to— 

21 ‘‘(1) keep victims informed of the status of in22 vestigations, enforcement actions, and settlement ne23 gotiations; and 

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

25 under this section. 


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

2 means— 

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

4 who has sustained a work-related injury or illness 

5 that is the subject of an inspection or investigation 

6 conducted under section 8; or 

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

8 the Secretary) of a victim described in paragraph 

9 (1), if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the victim dies as a result of an inci11 dent that is the subject of an inspection or in12 vestigation conducted under section 8; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the victim sustains a work-related in14 jury or illness that is the subject of an inspec15 tion or investigation conducted under section 8, 

16 and the victim because of incapacity cannot rea17 sonably exercise the rights under this section.’’. 

18 PART E—PROCEDURE FOR ENFORCEMENT 

19 SEC. 341. RIGHT TO CONTEST CITATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

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

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

22 (1) in the first sentence— 

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

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


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

2 issued under this section)’’; 

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

4 citation under section 9’’ the following: ‘‘(in5 cluding a modification of a citation issued 

6 under such section)’’; and 

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

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

9 citation fails properly to designate the violation 

10 as serious, willful, or repeated, that the pro11 posed penalty is not adequate, or’’; 

12 (2) by inserting after the first sentence, the fol13 lowing: ‘‘The pendency of a contest before the Com14 mission shall not bar the Secretary from inspecting 

15 a place of employment or from issuing a citation 

16 under section 9.’’; and 

17 (3) by amending the last sentence— 

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

19 ‘‘Commission shall provide’’; and 

20 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

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

22 citation’’. 


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1 SEC. 342. CORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR RE2 PEATED VIOLATIONS PENDING CONTEST AND 

3 PROCEDURES FOR A STAY. 

4 Section 10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

5 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659) is further amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(d) CORRECTION OF SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR RE8 PEATED VIOLATIONS PENDING CONTEST AND PROCE9 DURES FOR A STAY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PERIOD PERMITTED FOR CORRECTION OF

11 SERIOUS, WILLFUL, OR REPEATED VIOLATIONS.— 

12 For each violation which the Secretary designates as 

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

14 the correction of the violation shall begin to run 

15 upon receipt of the citation. 

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

17 filing of a notice of contest by an employer— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall not operate as a stay of the pe19 riod for correction of a violation designated as 

20 serious, willful, or repeated; and 

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

22 for correction of a violation not designated by 

23 the Secretary as serious, willful, or repeated. 

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

25 STAYS.— 


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

2 that receives a citation alleging a violation des3 ignated as serious, willful, or repeated and that 

4 files a notice of contest to the citation asserting 

5 that the time set for abatement of the alleged 

6 violation is unreasonable or challenging the ex7 istence of the alleged violation may file with the 

8 Commission a motion to stay the period for the 

9 abatement of the violation. 

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

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

12 filed under subparagraph (A), the Commission 

13 may grant a stay only if the employer has dem14 onstrated— 

15 ‘‘(i) a substantial likelihood of success 

16 on the areas contested under subparagraph 

17 (A); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) that a stay will not adversely af19 fect the health and safety of workers. 

20 ‘‘(C) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Com21 mission shall develop rules of procedure for con22 ducting a hearing on a motion filed under sub23 paragraph (A) on an expedited basis. At a min24 imum, such rules shall provide: 


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1 ‘‘(i) That a hearing before an admin2 istrative law judge shall occur not later 

3 than 15 days following the filing of the 

4 motion for a stay (unless extended at the 

5 request of the employer), and shall provide 

6 for a decision on the motion not later than 

7 15 days following the hearing (unless ex8 tended at the request of the employer). 

9 ‘‘(ii) That a decision of an administra10 tive law judge on a motion for stay is ren11 dered on a timely basis. 

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

13 a decision issued by an administrative law 

14 judge regarding the stay, such party has 

15 the right to file an objection with the Com16 mission not later than 5 days after receipt 

17 of the administrative law judge’s decision. 

18 Within 10 days after receipt of the objec19 tion, a Commissioner, if a quorum is seat20 ed pursuant to section 12(f), shall decide 

21 whether to grant review of the objection. 

22 If, within 10 days after receipt of the ob23 jection, no decision is made on whether to 

24 review the decision of the administrative 

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1 view such decision, or no quorum is seated, 

2 the decision of the administrative law 

3 judge shall become a final order of the 

4 Commission. If the Commission grants re5 view of the objection, the Commission shall 

6 issue a decision regarding the stay not 

7 later than 30 days after receipt of the ob8 jection. If the Commission fails to issue 

9 such decision within 30 days, the decision 

10 of the administrative law judge shall be11 come a final order of the Commission. 

12 ‘‘(iv) For notification to employees or 

13 representatives of affected employees of re14 quests for such hearings and shall provide 

15 affected employees or representatives of af16 fected employees an opportunity to partici17 pate as parties to such hearings.’’. 

18 SEC. 343. INACTION BY THE REVIEW COMMISSION. 

19 Section 10 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

20 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 659), as amended by sections 341 and 

21 342, is further amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(e) INACTION BY REVIEW COMMISSION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A decision or order issued 

25 by an administrative law judge of the Commission 


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1 for which a petition for review has been filed in a 

2 timely manner, and for which 1 year after the Com3 mission has accepted such petition and directed that 

4 such petition be reviewed by the Commission, the 

5 Commission has failed to issue a final decision or 

6 order because the Commission lacks a quorum— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall be deemed a final decision or 

8 order of the Commission; and 

9 ‘‘(B) may be appealed pursuant to section 

10 11(a). 

11 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

12 apply with respect to motions to stay filed under 

13 subsection (d)(3).’’. 

14 SEC. 344. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

15 (a) VIOLATIONS DESIGNATED AS SERIOUS, WILL16 FUL, OR REPEATED.—The first sentence of section 10(b) 

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

18 U.S.C. 659(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, with the excep19 tion of violations designated as serious, willful, or re20 peated,’’ after ‘‘(which period shall not begin to run’’. 

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

22 11(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

23 (29 U.S.C. 660(a)) is amended— 

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘(or the failure of the Commis25 sion, including an administrative law judge, to make 


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1 a timely decision on a petition for a stay or other 

2 review)’’ after ‘‘an order’’; 

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

4 ‘‘subsection (c), (d), or (e)’’; and 

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

6 from a final Commission order regarding a stay 

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

8 (c) FAILURE TO CORRECT VIOLATIONS.—Section 

9 17(d) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

10 (29 U.S.C. 666(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

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

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

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

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

15 has not been issued by the Commission under section 

16 10(d)) may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than 

17 $7,000 for each day during which such failure or violation 

18 continues. Any employer who fails to correct any other vio19 lation for which a citation has been issued under section 

20 9(a) of this title within the period permitted for its correc21 tion (which period shall not begin to run until the date 

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

23 review proceeding under section 10 initiated by the em24 ployer in good faith and not solely for delay of avoidance 

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


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1 than $7,000 for each day during which such failure or vio2 lation continues.’’. 

3 PART F—PENALTIES 

4 SEC. 351. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

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

6 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666) is further 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

10 ‘‘$136,532’’; 

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

12 ‘‘$9,753’’; and 

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

14 determining whether a violation is repeated, the 

15 Secretary or the Commission shall consider the 

16 employer’s history of violations under this Act 

17 and under State occupational safety and health 

18 plans established under section 18. If such a 

19 willful or repeated violation caused or contrib20 uted to the death of an employee, such civil 

21 penalty amounts shall be increased to not more 

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

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1 ployees such penalty shall not be less than 

2 $25,000 for each such violation.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

5 ‘‘$13,653’’; and 

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

7 such a violation caused or contributed to the 

8 death of an employee, such civil penalty 

9 amounts shall be increased to not more than 

10 $50,000 for each such violation, but not less 

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

12 that for an employer with 25 or fewer employ13 ees such penalty shall not be less than $10,000 

14 for each such violation.’’; 

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

16 inserting ‘‘$13,653’’; 

17 (4) in subsection (d), as amended by section 

18 344(c), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ each place it occurs 

19 and inserting ‘‘$13,653’’; 

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

21 and subsections (j) through (l), as subsections (f) 

22 through (j) and subsections (l) through (n), respec23 tively; and 

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

25 striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$13,653’’. 


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1 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 17 of such 

2 Act (29 U.S.C. 666), as amended by subsection (a), is fur3 ther amended by inserting after subsection (d) the fol4 lowing: 

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

6 penalties shall be adjusted by the Secretary once each 

7 year, not later than January 15 of such year, to account 

8 for the percentage increase or decrease in the Consumer 

9 Price Index for all urban consumers during such period, 

10 consistent with the requirements of the Federal Civil Pen11 alties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 

12 note).’’. 

13 SEC. 352. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

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

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

16 amended by section 351) is further amended— 

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

18 by section 351(a)(5)) to read as follows: 

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

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

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

22 and that violation caused or significantly contributed to 

23 the death of any employee, shall, upon conviction, be pun24 ished by a fine in accordance with title 18, United States 

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


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1 both, except that if the conviction is for a violation com2 mitted after a first conviction of such person under this 

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

4 in accordance title 18, United States Code, or by imprison5 ment for not more than 20 years, or by both. 

6 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em7 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

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

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

10 by section 351(a)(5)) to read as follows: 

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

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

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

14 conducted under this Act with the intention of impeding, 

15 interfering with, or adversely affecting the results of such 

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

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

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

19 351(a)(5)), by striking ‘‘fine of not more than 

20 $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than six 

21 months,’’ and inserting ‘‘fine in accordance with title 

22 18, United States Code, or by imprisonment for not 

23 more than 5 years,’’; and 

24 (4) by inserting after subsection (j) (as redesig25 nated by section 351(a)(5)) the following: 


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

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

3 any regulation prescribed under this Act, and that viola4 tion caused or significantly contributed to serious bodily 

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

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

7 accordance with title 18, United States Code, or by impris8 onment for not more than 5 years, or by both, except that 

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

10 conviction of such person under this subsection or sub11 section (e), punishment shall be by a fine in accordance 

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

13 not more than 10 years, or by both. 

14 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘em15 ployer’ means, in addition to the definition contained in 

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

17 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘seri18 ous bodily harm’ means bodily injury or illness that in19 volves— 

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

21 ‘‘(B) protracted unconsciousness; 

22 ‘‘(C) protracted and obvious physical disfigure23 ment; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) protracted loss or impairment, either tem2 porary or permanent, of the function of a bodily 

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

4 (b) JURISDICTION FOR PROSECUTION UNDER STATE

5 AND LOCAL CRIMINAL LAWS.—Such section 17 (29 

6 U.S.C. 666) is further amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

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

9 local law enforcement agency from conducting criminal 

10 prosecutions in accordance with the laws of such State or 

11 locality.’’. 

12 SEC. 353. PREJUDGMENT INTEREST. 

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

14 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 666(n)) (as redesignated by sec15 tion 351(a)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: ‘‘Pre-final order interest on such penalties shall 

17 begin to accrue on the date the party contests a citation 

18 issued under this Act, and shall end upon the issuance 

19 of the final order. Such pre-final order interest shall be 

20 calculated at the current underpayment rate determined 

21 by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 6621 

22 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall be com23 pounded daily. Post-final order interest shall begin to ac24 crue 30 days after the date a final order of the CommisVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2876.IH H2876

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1 sion or the court is issued, and shall be charged at the 

2 rate of 8 percent per year.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—STATE PLANS 

4 SEC. 401. CONCURRENT ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AND 

5 REVIEW OF STATE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

6 AND HEALTH PLANS. 

7 Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 

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

9 (1) by amending subsection (f) to read as fol10 lows: 

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

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

13 inspections, make a continuing evaluation of the manner 

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

15 section is carrying out such plan. Such evaluation shall 

16 include an assessment of whether the State continues to 

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

18 any other criteria or indices of effectiveness specified by 

19 the Secretary in regulations. Whenever the Secretary 

20 finds, on the basis of such evaluation, that in the adminis21 tration of the State plan there is a failure to comply sub22 stantially with any provision of the State plan (or any as23 surance contained therein), the Secretary shall make an 

24 initial determination of whether the failure is of such a 

25 nature that the plan should be withdrawn or whether the 


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

2 the opportunity to remedy the deficiencies, and provide no3 tice of the Secretary’s findings and initial determination. 

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

5 to reassert and exercise concurrent enforcement authority 

6 while the State is given an opportunity to remedy the defi7 ciencies, the Secretary shall afford the State an oppor8 tunity for a public hearing within 15 days of such request, 

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

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

11 review and consider the testimony, evidence, or written 

12 comments, and not later than 30 days following such hear13 ing, make a determination to affirm, reverse, or modify 

14 the Secretary’s initial determination to reassert and exer15 cise concurrent enforcement authority under sections 8, 9, 

16 10, 13, and 17 with respect to standards promulgated 

17 under section 6 and obligations under section 5(a). Fol18 lowing such a determination by the Secretary, or in the 

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

20 timeframe set forth in this paragraph, the Secretary may 

21 reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement author22 ity, while a final determination is pending under para23 graph (3) or until the Secretary has determined that the 

24 State has remedied the deficiencies as provided under 

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


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1 the Federal Register. The procedures set forth in section 

2 18(g) shall not apply to a determination by the Secretary 

3 to reassert and exercise such concurrent enforcement au4 thority. 

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

6 that the plan should be withdrawn, the Secretary shall 

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

8 based on the evaluation, comments, and evidence, the Sec9 retary makes a final determination that there is a failure 

10 to comply substantially with any provision of the State 

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

12 the State agency of the withdrawal of approval of such 

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

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

15 any case commenced before the withdrawal of the plan in 

16 order to enforce standards under the plan whenever the 

17 issues involved do not relate to the reasons for the with18 drawal of the plan. 

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

20 State should be provided the opportunity to remedy the 

21 deficiencies, the Secretary shall provide the State an op22 portunity to respond to the Secretary’s findings and the 

23 opportunity to remedy such deficiencies within a time pe24 riod established by the Secretary, not to exceed 1 year. 

25 The Secretary may extend and revise the time period to 


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

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

3 demonstrates that it is not feasible to correct the defi4 ciencies in the time period set by the Secretary, and the 

5 State has a plan to correct the deficiencies within a rea6 sonable time period. If the Secretary finds that the State 

7 agency has failed to remedy such deficiencies within the 

8 time period specified by the Secretary and that the State 

9 plan continues to fail to comply substantially with a provi10 sion of the State plan, the Secretary shall withdraw the 

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

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(i) Not later than 18 months after the date of enact15 ment of this subsection, and again 5 years thereafter, the 

16 Comptroller General shall complete and issue a review of 

17 the effectiveness of State plans to develop and enforce 

18 safety and health standards to determine if they are at 

19 least as effective as the Federal program and to evaluate 

20 whether the Secretary’s oversight of State plans is effec21 tive. The Comptroller General’s evaluation shall assess— 

22 ‘‘(1) the effectiveness of the Secretary’s over23 sight of State plans, including the indices of effec24 tiveness used by the Secretary; 


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

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

4 policy issues have been identified by headquarters 

5 and corrective actions are fully implemented by each 

6 State; 

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

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

9 is fair and adequate; and 

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

11 Federal program in preventing occupational injuries, 

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

14 percent of approved State plans, and which shall 

15 cover— 

16 ‘‘(A) enforcement effectiveness, including 

17 handling of fatalities, serious incidents and 

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

24 ‘‘(B) inspections, the number of pro25 grammed health and safety inspections at priVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:53 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2876.IH H2876

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1 vate and public sector establishments, and 

2 whether the State targets the highest hazard 

3 private sector work sites and facilities in that 

4 State; 

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

9 vacancies; 

10 ‘‘(D) administrative review, including the 

11 quality of decisions, consistency with Federal 

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

14 adequacy of State defense, and whether the 

15 State appropriately appeals adverse decisions; 

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

17 discrimination complaints are processed in a 

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

24 rights, and whether there is an effective process 


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

3 ‘‘(F) program administration, including 

4 whether the State’s standards and policies are 

5 at least as effective as the Federal program and 

6 are updated in a timely manner, and whether 

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

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

10 Federal program; 

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

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

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

15 Comptroller General, or as requested by the 

16 Committee on Education and the Workforce of 

17 the House of Representatives or the Committee 

18 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

19 the Senate.’’. 

20 SEC. 402. EVALUATION OF REPEATED VIOLATIONS IN 

21 STATE PLANS. 

22 Section 18(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health 

23 Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668(c)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and 

25 inserting a comma; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding after paragraph 8 the following 

4 new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(9) provides that in determining whether a 

6 violation is repeated, the State shall consider the 

7 employer’s violations within the State, in conjunction 

8 with the employer’s history of violations under other 

9 States’ occupational safety and health plans ap10 proved by the Secretary and the employer’s history 

11 of violations in those States where the Secretary has 

12 jurisdiction under this Act, in a manner that is at 

13 least as effective as provided under section 17.’’. 

14 TITLE V—NATIONAL INSTITUTE 

15 FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 

16 AND HEALTH 

17 SEC. 501. HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATIONS BY THE NA18 TIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL 

19 SAFETY AND HEALTH. 

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

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

22 striking the second sentence and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘The Secretary shall determine following a written request 

24 by any employer, authorized representative of current or 

25 former employees, physician, other Federal agency, or 


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1 State or local health department, specifying with reason2 able particularity the grounds on which the request is 

3 made, whether any substance normally found in the place 

4 of employment has potentially toxic effects in such con5 centrations as used or found or whether any physical 

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

7 potentially hazardous effects; and shall submit such deter8 mination both to employers and affected employees as 

9 soon as possible.’’. 

10 SEC. 502. TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE EDUCATION. 

11 Paragraph (1) of section 21(c) of the Occupational 

12 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 670(c)) is 

13 amended to read as follows: ‘‘(1) provide for the establish14 ment and supervision of programs for the education and 

15 training of employers and employees in the recognition, 

16 avoidance, and prevention of unsafe or unhealthful work17 ing conditions, and employee rights and employer respon18 sibilities under this Act, which shall include grant pro19 grams to provide grants for nonprofit organizations (in20 cluding grants to develop or expand the capacity of such 

21 organizations to provide safety and health training, edu22 cation, and related assistance to the targeted audiences, 

23 grants for the training of employees and employers on oc24 cupational safety and health hazards of particular concern 

25 or for particular industries, or groups of workers at high 


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1 risk of injury, illness, or exposure to hazards, and grants 

2 for the development of training materials on particular 

3 topics), and’’ 

4 TITLE VI—EFFECTIVE DATE 

5 SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided for in sub7 section (b), this Act and the amendments made by this 

8 Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) EXCEPTION FOR STATES AND POLITICAL SUB11 DIVISIONS.—The following are exceptions to the effective 

12 date described in subsection (a): 

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

14 under section 18 of the Occupational Safety and 

15 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667) shall amend its 

16 State plan to conform with the requirements of this 

17 Act and the amendments made by this Act not later 

18 than 12 months after the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act. The Secretary of Labor may extend the pe20 riod for a State to make such amendments to its 

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

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

23 month period beginning with the date of the enact24 ment of this Act. Such amendments to the State 


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1 plan shall take effect not later than 90 days after 

2 the adoption of such amendments by such State. 

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

4 Act shall take effect on the date that is 36 months 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act with re6 spect to a workplace of a State, or a political sub7 division of a State, that does not have a State plan 

8 approved under such section 18 (29 U.S.C. 667). 

Æ 


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