Correctional Facilities Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2023

Subjects: Labor and Employment

Summary:  <p><b>Correctional Facilities Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill extends federal workplace safety and health protections to incarcerated workers. These are individuals who (1) are incarcerated or detained in a federal, state, or local correctional facility (or a private facility operating under government contract); and (2) perform work offered or required by the correctional facility, such as prison work programs or work release programs.</p> <p>States and territories that enforce their own workplace safety and health laws and standards under a plan approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration must include workplace protections for incarcerated workers in the plan. In addition, the Department of Labor must establish a grant program to assist states with amending their occupational safety and health laws to cover incarcerated workers and with enforcing those laws.</p> <p>Furthermore, the Bureau of Prisons must ensure that its workplace safety and health program applies to incarcerated workers in the same manner as it applies to employees of the bureau.</p> <p>Additionally, states and localities that participate in the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program must have workplace safety and health protections for incarcerated workers that are appropriately monitored and enforced. The bill reserves a portion of the grants for recipients to use to set up workplace safety and health protections for incarcerated workers.</p> <p>The bill also requires periodic reports to Congress and the Department of Justice about the workplace and safety conditions at correctional facilities, including any potential noncompliance with relevant standards.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 518 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 518

  To enhance coverage and oversight of occupational safety and health 
     standards in correctional facilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2023

  Mr. Booker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To enhance coverage and oversight of occupational safety and health 
     standards in correctional facilities, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Correctional Facilities Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. COVERAGE OF INCARCERATED WORKERS UNDER THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY 
              AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970.

    (a) Definition of Correctional Facility.--Section 3 of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 652) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
            ``(15) The term `correctional facility' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 901(a) Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
        Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251(a)).''.
    (b) State Plans.--Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``political 
                subdivisions,'' and inserting ``political subdivisions 
                and to all incarcerated workers,''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (7)--
                            (i) by striking ``(7) requires'' and 
                        inserting ``(7)(A) requires''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(B) requires the State to ensure that any public agency 
        of the State (or of a political subdivision of the State) 
        operating a correctional facility or contracting with a private 
        entity to operate such a facility, shall, not later than 2 
        years after the date of enactment of the Correctional 
        Facilities Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2023, and 
        every year thereafter, submit to the Attorney General and 
        Congress a report on--
                    ``(i) the workplace safety and health conditions at 
                each such facility, and
                    ``(ii) any potential noncompliance of each such 
                facility with the safety and health standards under the 
                State plan, and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Definition of Incarcerated Worker.--In this section, the term 
`incarcerated worker' means an individual, incarcerated or detained in 
a correctional facility operated by a public agency of a State or 
political subdivision of a State (or by a private entity through a 
contract with a State or political subdivision of a State), who 
performs work offered or required by or through the correctional 
facility, including work associated with prison work programs, work 
release programs, State prison industries, public works programs, 
restitution centers, correctional facility operations and maintenance, 
and private entities.''.
    (c) Federal Prisons.--Section 19 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 668) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(e) Bureau of Prisons.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director of the Bureau of Prisons 
        shall--
                    ``(A) ensure that the occupational safety and 
                health program established and maintained by the 
                Director under subsection (a) shall apply with respect 
                to incarcerated workers in the same manner as the 
                program applies to employees of the Bureau of Prisons; 
                and
                    ``(B) agree to submit, not later than 2 years after 
                the date of enactment of the Correctional Facilities 
                Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2023, and every 
                year thereafter, to the Attorney General and Congress, 
                a report on--
                            ``(i) the workplace safety and health 
                        conditions at any correctional facility 
                        operated by the Bureau of Prisons or a private 
                        entity contracting with Bureau of Prisons;
                            ``(ii) any injury or death of any employee 
                        or incarcerated worker while performing labor 
                        with respect to such facility; and
                            ``(iii) any potential noncompliance of any 
                        such facility of such occupational safety and 
                        health program.
            ``(2) Definition of incarcerated worker.--In this section, 
        the term `incarcerated worker' means an individual, 
        incarcerated or detained in a correctional facility operated by 
        the Bureau of Prisons (or by a private entity through a 
        contract with the Bureau of Prisons), who performs work offered 
        or required by or through the correctional facility, including 
        work associated with prison work programs, work release 
        programs, the UNICOR program, public works programs, 
        restitution centers, correctional facility operations and 
        maintenance, and private entities.''.

SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR STATES TO ENACT PROTECTIONS FOR INCARCERATED 
              WORKERS.

    Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 501 (34 U.S.C. 10152), by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(i) Annual Report on Workplace Safety and Health Conditions.--Not 
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Correctional 
Facilities Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2023 and annually 
thereafter, any State or unit of local government that receives a grant 
under this section and operates a correctional facility or contracts 
with a private entity to operate a correctional facility shall submit 
to the Attorney General and Congress a report on--
            ``(1) the workplace safety and health conditions at each 
        such correctional facility;
            ``(2) any injury or death of any employee or incarcerated 
        worker while performing work with respect to any such 
        correctional facility; and
            ``(3) any potential noncompliance of any such correctional 
        facility with the occupational safety and health standards that 
        apply to the correctional facility.'';
            (2) in section 502 (34 U.S.C. 10153)--
                    (A) by striking ``(A) In general'' and inserting 
                ``(a) In general''; and
                    (B) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
                following:
            ``(7) A certification, to be verified by the Attorney 
        General, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Labor 
        for Occupational Safety and Health, that--
                    ``(A) the State or unit of local government--
                            ``(i) has provided workplace safety and 
                        health protections for incarcerated workers in 
                        correctional facilities, either by legislative 
                        or executive action, that are at least as 
                        effective in providing safe and healthful 
                        employment and places of employment for 
                        incarcerated workers as the comprehensive 
                        occupational safety and health programs 
                        established by States under section 18 of the 
                        Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
                        U.S.C. 667); or
                            ``(ii) not later than the last day of the 
                        fiscal year following the fiscal year to which 
                        the application relates, will have provided the 
                        protections described in clause (i), with the 
                        limitation that a certification under this 
                        clause may only be submitted one time; and
                    ``(B) an appropriate State or local agency monitors 
                and enforces or will monitor or enforce, as applicable, 
                the safety and health protections described in 
                subparagraph (A)(i).'';
            (3) in section 506 (34 U.S.C. 10157), by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(c) Of the total amount made available to carry out this subpart 
for a fiscal year, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, shall 
reserve not less than $20,000,000 for use by States and units of local 
government to establish and implement workplace safety and health 
protections for incarcerated workers in correctional facilities.''; and
            (4) in section 901(a) (34 U.S.C. 10251(a))--
                    (A) in paragraph (27), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (28), by striking the period at 
                the end and adding ``; and''; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (28) the 
                following:
            ``(29) the term `incarcerated worker' means an individual, 
        incarcerated or detained in a correctional facility operated by 
        a State or a political subdivision of a State (or by a private 
        entity through a contract with a State or political subdivision 
        of a State), who performs work offered or required by or 
        through the correctional facility, including work associated 
        with prison work programs, work release programs, State prison 
        industries, public works programs, restitution centers, 
        correctional facility operations and maintenance, and private 
        entities.''.

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO ASSIST STATES IN COVERING INCARCERATED WORKERS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor shall establish a grant 
program to award a grant to each State that submits an application 
satisfying the requirements under subsection (b) to assist the State in 
amending the occupational safety and health laws of the State to cover 
incarcerated workers and to enforce those laws as appropriate through 
inspections, investigations, citations, penalties, and other 
enforcement mechanisms.
    (b) Applications.--A State seeking a grant under this section shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require.
    (c) Definition of Incarcerated Worker.--In this section, the term 
``incarcerated worker'' has the meaning given such term in section 
18(i) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
667(i)).
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2029, to remain available until expended.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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