I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1162
To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 20, 1997
Mr. HEFLEY (for himself, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. DAN SCHAEFER of Colorado, Mr.
BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. TAYLOR of North Caro-
lina, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. NOR-
WOOD, and Mr. PAUL) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘OSHA Reform Act of 1997’’.
(b) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act an amend-
ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment
to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference
shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi-
sion of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
SEC. 2. REPEALS.
Sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 17 (29 U.S.C. 657,
658, 659, 660, 666) are repealed.
SEC. 3. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS.
(a) STANDARD BASIS.—Paragraph (5) of section 6(b)
(29 U.S.C. 655(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(5) The development of standards under this
section shall be based upon the latest scientific data
in the field and on such research, demonstrations,
experiments, and other information as may be ap-
propriate. In establishing such standards, the Sec-
retary shall consider and make findings concerning
the appropriateness of the standard to the following
factors:
‘‘(A) The standard is needed to address a
significant risk of material impairment to work-
ers and will substantially reduce that risk.
‘‘(B) The standard is feasible.
‘‘(C) There is a reasonable relationship be-
tween the costs and benefits of the standard.
‘‘(D) The standard will provide protection
to employees in the most cost-effective manner
to minimize employment loss due to the stand-
ard in the affected industries.
‘‘(E) Whenever practicable, the standard
shall be expressed in terms of objective criteria
and of the performance desired.’’.
(b) TOXIC MATERIALS
OR HARMFUL PHYSICAL
AGENTS.—The second sentence of section 6(g) (29 U.S.C.
655(g)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘In determining
the priority for establishing standards dealing with toxic
materials or harmful physical agents, the Secretary shall
consider the number of workers exposed to the material
or agent, the nature and severity of the potential impair-
ment, and the likelihood of such impairment.’’.
SEC. 4. NEW PROVISIONS.
(a) EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION.—The Act is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
‘‘SEC. 33. In order to carry out the purposes of this
Act to encourage employers and employees in their efforts
to reduce the number of occupational safety and health
hazards, an employee participation committee or other
mechanism—
‘‘(1) in which employees participate,
‘‘(2) which exists for the purpose, in whole or
in part, of dealing with employees concerning the
safety or health of working conditions or related
matters, and
‘‘(3) which does not have, claim, or seek author-
ity to negotiate or enter into collective bargaining
agreements with an employer or to amend existing
collective bargaining agreements between and em-
ployer and any labor organization,
shall not constitute a ‘labor organization’ for purposes of
section 8(a)(2) of the National Labor Relations Act or a
representative for purposes of sections 1 and 2 of the Rail-
way Labor Act.
(b) SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—
The Act, as amended by subsection (a), is amended by
adding after section 33 the following:
‘‘SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING
‘‘SEC. 34. (a) The Secretary shall establish and im-
plement a program to provide technical assistance and
consultative services for employers and employees, either
directly or by grant or contract, concerning worksite safety
and health and compliance with this Act. Such assistance
shall be targeted at small employers and the most hazard-
ous industries.
‘‘(b) This subsection authorizes the consultative serv-
ices to employers provided under cooperative agreements
between the States and the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration and described in part 1908 of title
39 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
‘‘(c) Not less than one-fourth of the annual appro-
priation made to the Secretary to carry out this Act shall
be expended for the purposes described in this section.’’.
(c) VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAM AWARD.—
The Act, as amended by subsection (b), is amended by
adding after section 34 the following:
‘‘VOLUNTARY PROTECTION PROGRAM AWARD
‘‘SEC. 35. (a) The Secretary shall establish an award
which shall periodically be made to companies and other
organizations which have implemented particularly effec-
tive approaches to addressing occupational safety and
health in the workplace, including those which provide for
effective employee involvement in improving safety and
health and which are as a consequence deserving of special
recognition.
‘‘(b) A company or organization to which an award
is made under subsection (a) and which agrees to help
other American companies or organizations improve their
occupational safety and health may publicize its receipt
of such award and use the award in its advertising, but
it shall be ineligible to receive another such award in the
same category for a period of 5 years.
‘‘(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), separate awards
shall be made to qualifying organizations and companies
in each of the following categories—
‘‘(A) Small businesses.
‘‘(B) Other companies or their subsidi-
aries.
‘‘(C) Companies which primarily perform
construction work.
‘‘(2) CHANGE IN LIST.—The Secretary may at
any time expand, subdivide, or otherwise modify the
list of categories within which awards may be made
as initially in effect under paragraph (1) and may
establish separate awards for other organizations
and companies including units of government, upon
a determination that the objectives of this section
would be better served thereby; except that any such
expansion, subdivision, modification, or establish-
ment shall not be effective unless and until the Sec-
retary has submitted a detailed description thereof
to the Congress and a period of 30 days has elapsed
since that submission.
‘‘(3) Not more than 2 awards may be made
within any subcategory in any year (and no award
shall be made within any category or subcategory if
there are no qualifying enterprises in that category
or subcategory).
‘‘(d) An organization or company may qualify for an
award under subsection (a) only if it—
‘‘(1) applies to the Secretary in writing, for the
award,
‘‘(2) permits a rigorous evaluation of its occu-
pational safety and health operations, and
‘‘(3) meets such requirements and specifications
as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to
achieve the objectives of this section.
In applying paragraph (3) with respect to any organiza-
tion or company, the Secretary shall rely upon an intensive
evaluation of the occupational safety and health operation.
The examination should encompass all aspects of the orga-
nization’s or company’s current occupational safety and
health practice. The award shall be given only to organiza-
tions and companies which have made outstanding im-
provements in their occupational safety and health prac-
tices and which demonstrate effective occupational safety
and health practices through the training and involvement
of all levels of personnel.
‘‘(e) The Secretary shall ensure that all program par-
ticipants receive the complete results of their audits as
well as detailed explanations of all suggestions for im-
provements. The Secretary shall also provide information
about the awards and the successful quality improvement
strategies and programs of the award-winning participants
to all participants and other appropriate groups.
‘‘(f) The Secretary is authorized to seek and accept
gifts from public and private sources to carry out the pro-
gram under this section. If additional sums are needed
to cover the full cost of the program, the Secretary shall
impose fees upon the organizations and companies apply-
ing for the award in amounts sufficient to provide such
additional sums.
‘‘(g) The Secretary shall prepare and submit to the
President and the Congress, within 3 years after the date
of the enactment of this section, a report on the progress,
findings, and conclusions of activities conducted pursuant
to this section along with recommendations for possible
modifications thereof.’’.
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