TITLE III—PENALTIES 
SEC. 301. CIVIL PENALTIES. 
(a) TARGETED PENALTIES.—Section 110(b) (30 
U.S.C. 820(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) A civil penalty of not more than $220,000 
may be assessed for— 
‘‘(A) any change to a ventilation system or 
ventilation control in a coal or other mine, 
where such ventilation system or control is re-
quired by a ventilation plan, safety standard, or 
order, and such change is made without prior 
approval of the Secretary and diminishes the 
level of protection below the minimum require-
ments of the approved ventilation plan or appli-
cable safety standard or order; 
‘‘(B) a violation of a mandatory health and 
safety standard requiring rock dusting in a coal 
mine; 
‘‘(C) a violation of the statutory prohibi-
tion on providing advance notice of an inspec-
tion; or 
‘‘(D) a violation of a mandatory health and 
safety standard requiring examinations of work 
areas in an underground coal mine.’’. 
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(b) INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES DURING PATTERN 
OF VIOLATIONS STATUS.—Section 110(b) (30 U.S.C. 
820(b)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
an operator of a coal or other mine that is in pattern of 
violations status under section 104(e) shall be assessed an 
increased civil penalty for any violation of this Act, includ-
ing any mandatory health or safety standard or regulation 
promulgated under this Act. Such increased penalty shall 
be twice the amount that would otherwise be assessed for 
the violation under this Act, including the regulations pro-
mulgated under this Act, subject to the maximum civil 
penalty established for the violation under this Act.’’. 
(c) CIVIL PENALTY
FOR RETALIATION.—Section 
110(a) (30 U.S.C. 820(a)) is further amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (5); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) If any person violates section 105(c), the Sec-
retary shall propose, and the Commission shall assess, a 
civil penalty of not less than $10,000 or more than 
$100,000 for the first occurrence of such violation, and 
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not less than $20,000 or more than $200,000 for any sub-
sequent violation, during any 3-year period.’’. 
(d) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 110(a)(1) 
(30 U.S.C. 820(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘including 
any regulation promulgated under this Act,’’ after ‘‘this 
Act,’’. 
SEC. 302. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF OFFICERS, DI-
RECTORS, AND AGENTS. 
Section 110(c) (30 U.S.C. 820(c)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(c) CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF OFFICERS, 
DIRECTORS, AND AGENTS.— 
‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Whenever an operator 
engages in conduct for which the operator is subject 
to civil penalties under this section, any director, of-
ficer, or agent of such operator who knowingly au-
thorizes, orders, or carries out such conduct, or who 
knowingly authorizes, orders, or carries out any pol-
icy or practice that results in such conduct and hav-
ing reason to believe it would so result, shall be sub-
ject to the same civil penalties under this section as 
if it were an operator engaging in such conduct. 
‘‘(2) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Whenever an op-
erator engages in conduct for which the operator is 
subject to criminal penalties under subsection (d), 
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any director, officer, or agent of such operator who 
knowingly authorizes, orders, or carries out such 
conduct, or who knowingly authorizes, orders, or 
carries out a policy or practice that results in such 
conduct, and knowing that it will so result, shall be 
subject to the same penalties under paragraph (1) or 
(2) of subsection (d) as if such person were an oper-
ator engaging in such conduct.’’. 
SEC. 303. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 820) is 
amended by striking subsection (d) and— 
(1) by inserting the following new heading: 
‘‘(d) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—’’; 
(2) by inserting after the heading (as added by 
paragraph (1) of this subsection), the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, being an oper-
ator, knowingly— 
‘‘(A) violates a mandatory health or safety 
standard, or 
‘‘(B) violates or fails or refuses to comply 
with any order issued under section 104 or sec-
tion 107, or any order incorporated in a final 
decision issued under this Act (except an order 
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incorporated in a decision under subsection 
(a)(1) or section 105(c)), 
shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than 
$250,000, or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, 
or both, except that if the operator commits the vio-
lation after having been previously convicted of a 
violation under this paragraph and if, the operator 
knows or has reason to know that such subsequent 
violation has the potential to expose a miner to risk 
of serious injury, serious illness, or death, the oper-
ator shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than 
$1,000,000, or imprisoned for not more than 5 
years, or both.’’; 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as added 
by paragraph (2) of this subsection), the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANT
RISK
OF
SERIOUS
INJURY, 
SERIOUS ILLNESS, OR DEATH.—Whoever, being an 
operator, knowingly— 
‘‘(A) tampers with or disables a required 
safety device (except with express authorization 
from the Secretary), 
‘‘(B) violates a mandatory health or safety 
standard, or 
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‘‘(C) violates or fails or refuses to comply 
with an order issued under section 104 or 107, 
or any order incorporated in a final decision 
issued under this Act (except an order incor-
porated in a decision under subsection (a)(1) or 
section 105(c)), 
and thereby recklessly exposes a miner to significant 
risk of serious injury, serious illness, or death, shall, 
upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000,000 
or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, 
except that if the operator commits the violation 
after having been previously convicted of a violation 
under this paragraph, the operator shall, upon con-
viction, be fined not more than $2,000,000, or im-
prisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.’’; and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as added 
by paragraph (3) of this subsection), the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) CRIMINAL
PENALTIES
FOR
RETALIA-
TION.—Whoever knowingly— 
‘‘(A) with the intent to retaliate, interferes 
with the lawful employment or livelihood of a 
person, or the spouse, sibling, child, or parent 
of a person, because any of them provides infor-
mation to an authorized representative of the 
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Secretary, to a State or local mine safety or 
health officer or official, or to other law en-
forcement officer, in reasonable belief that the 
information is true and related to an apparent 
health or safety violation, or to an apparent 
unhealthful or unsafe condition, policy, or prac-
tice under this Act, or 
‘‘(B) interferes, or threatens to interfere, 
with the lawful employment or livelihood of a 
person, or the spouse, sibling, child, or parent 
of a person, with the intent to prevent any of 
them from so providing such information, 
shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned for not 
more than 5 years, or both.’’. 
(b) ADVANCE NOTICE OF INSPECTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 110(e) (30 U.S.C. 
820(e)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) Whoever knowingly, with intent to give advance 
notice of an inspection conducted or to be conducted under 
this Act, and thereby to impede, interfere with, or frus-
trate such inspection, engages in, or directs another per-
son to engage in, conduct that a reasonable person would 
expect to result in such advance notice, shall be fined 
under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not 
more than 5 years, or both, except that a miner (other 
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than a director, officer or agent of the operator involved) 
who commits the offense at the direction of a superior 
shall be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 
1 year, or both, unless the miner commits a second or 
subsequent offense under this subsection (without regard 
to whether the offense was committed at the direction of 
a superior) in which case the miner shall be fined for such 
second and subsequent offense under title 18, United 
States Code, or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or 
both.’’. 
(2) POSTING
OF
ADVANCE
NOTICE
PEN-
ALTIES.—Section 109 (30 U.S.C. 819) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) POSTING OF ADVANCE NOTICE PENALTIES.— 
Each operator of a coal or other mine shall post, on the 
bulletin board described in subsection (a) and in a con-
spicuous place near each staffed entrance onto the mine 
property, a notice stating, in a form and manner to be 
prescribed by the Secretary— 
‘‘(1) that it is unlawful pursuant to section 
110(e) for any person, with the intent to impede, 
interfere with, or frustrate an inspection conducted 
or to be conducted under this Act, to engage in, or 
direct another person to engage in, any conduct that 
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a reasonable person would expect to result in ad-
vance notice of such inspection; and 
‘‘(2) the maximum penalties for a violation 
under such subsection.’’. 
SEC. 304. COMMISSION REVIEW OF PENALTY ASSESS-
MENTS. 
Section 110(i) (30 U.S.C. 820(i)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘In assessing civil monetary penalties, the Com-
mission shall consider’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘In 
any review of a citation and proposed penalty assessment 
contested by an operator, the Commission shall assess not 
less than the penalty derived by using the same method-
ology (including any point system) prescribed in regula-
tions under this Act, so as to ensure consistency in oper-
ator penalty assessments, except that the Commission may 
assess a penalty for less than the amount that would result 
from the utilization of such methodology if the Commis-
sion finds that there are extraordinary circumstances. If 
there is no such methodology prescribed for a citation or 
there are such extraordinary circumstances, the Commis-
sion shall assess the penalty by considering’’. 
SEC. 305. DELINQUENT PAYMENTS AND PREJUDGMENT IN-
TEREST. 
(a) PRE-FINAL ORDER INTEREST.—Section 110(j) 
(30 U.S.C. 820(j)) is amended by striking the second and 
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third sentences and inserting the following: ‘‘Pre-final 
order interest on such penalties shall begin to accrue on 
the date the operator contests a citation issued under this 
Act, including any mandatory health or safety standard 
or regulation promulgated under this Act, and shall end 
upon the issuance of the final order. Such pre-final order 
interest shall be calculated at the current underpayment 
rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursu-
ant to section 6621 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
and shall be compounded daily. Post-final order interest 
shall begin to accrue 30 days after the date a final order 
of the Commission or the court is issued, and shall be 
charged at the rate of 8 percent per annum.’’. 
(b) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 
(1) AMENDMENTS.—Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 
820) is further amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsection (l) as sub-
section (m); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (k) the 
following: 
‘‘(l) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(1) DELINQUENT PAYMENT LETTER.—If the 
operator of a coal or other mine fails to pay any civil 
penalty assessment that has become a final order of 
the Commission or a court within 45 days after such 
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assessment became a final order, the Secretary shall 
send the operator a letter advising the operator of 
the consequences under this subsection of such fail-
ure to pay. The letter shall also advise the operator 
of the opportunity to enter into or modify a payment 
plan with the Secretary based upon a demonstrated 
inability to pay, the procedure for entering into such 
plan, and the consequences of not entering into or 
not complying with such plan. 
‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS FOLLOWING FAIL-
URE TO PAY.—If an operator that receives a letter 
under paragraph (1) has not paid the assessment by 
the date that is 180 days after such assessment be-
came a final order and has not entered into a pay-
ment plan with the Secretary, the Secretary shall 
issue an order requiring such operator to cause all 
persons, except those referred to in section 104(c), 
to be withdrawn from, and to be prohibited from en-
tering, the mine that is covered by the final order 
described in paragraph (1), until the operator pays 
such assessment in full (including interest and ad-
ministrative costs) or enters into a payment plan 
with the Secretary. If such operator enters into a 
payment plan with the Secretary and at any time 
fails to comply with the terms specified in such pay-
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ment plan, the Secretary shall issue an order requir-
ing such operator to cause all persons, except those 
referred to in section 104(c), to be withdrawn from 
the mine that is covered by such final order, and to 
be prohibited from entering such mine, until the op-
erator rectifies the noncompliance with the payment 
plan in the manner specified in such payment 
plan.’’. 
(2) APPLICABILITY
AND
EFFECTIVE
DATE.— 
The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall apply 
to all unpaid civil penalty assessments under the 
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 
U.S.C. 801 et seq.), except that, for any unpaid civil 
penalty assessment that became a final order of the 
Commission or a court before the date of enactment 
of this Act, the time periods under section 110(l) of 
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (as 
amended) (30 U.S.C. 820(l)) shall be calculated as 
beginning on the date of enactment of this Act in-
stead of on the date of the final order. 
TITLE IV—MINERS’ RIGHTS AND 
PROTECTIONS 
SEC. 401. PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION. 
Section 105(c) (30 U.S.C. 815(c)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
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‘‘(c) PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION.— 
‘‘(1) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 
‘‘(A) RETALIATION
FOR
COMPLAINT
OR 
TESTIMONY.—No person shall discharge or in 
any manner discriminate against or cause to be 
discharged or cause discrimination against or 
otherwise interfere with the exercise of the stat-
utory rights of any miner or other employee of 
an operator, representative of miners, or appli-
cant for employment (including the spouse, sib-
ling, child, or parent of such miner or employee, 
if such individual is employed or is applying for 
employment at a mine under the control of the 
operator), because— 
‘‘(i) such miner or other employee, 
representative, or applicant for employ-
ment— 
‘‘(I) has filed or made a com-
plaint, or is about to file or make a 
complaint, including a complaint noti-
fying the operator or the operator’s 
agent, or the representative of the 
miners at the coal or other mine of an 
alleged danger or safety or health vio-
lation in a coal or other mine; 
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‘‘(II) instituted or caused to be 
instituted, or is about to institute or 
cause to be instituted, any proceeding 
under or related to this Act or has 
testified or is about to testify in any 
such proceeding or because of the ex-
ercise by such miner or other em-
ployee, representative, or applicant for 
employment on behalf of him or her-
self or others of any right afforded by 
this Act, or has reported any injury or 
illness to an operator or agent; 
‘‘(III) has testified or is about to 
testify before Congress or any Federal 
or State proceeding related to safety 
or health in a coal or other mine; or 
‘‘(IV) refused to violate any pro-
vision of this Act, including any man-
datory health and safety standard or 
regulation; 
‘‘(ii) such miner is the subject of med-
ical evaluations and potential transfer 
under a standard published pursuant to 
section 101; or 
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‘‘(iii) where the discharge, discrimina-
tion or other retaliation was based on a 
suspicion or belief that such miner or other 
employee, representative, or applicant en-
gaged in or is about to engage in any of 
the activities described in clause (i). 
‘‘(B) RETALIATION FOR REFUSAL TO PER-
FORM DUTIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—No person shall 
discharge or in any manner discriminate 
against a miner or other employee of an 
operator for refusing to perform the min-
er’s or other employee’s duties if the miner 
or other employee has a good-faith and 
reasonable belief that performing such du-
ties would pose a safety or health hazard 
to the miner or other employee or to any 
other miner or employee. 
‘‘(ii) STANDARD.—For purposes of 
clause (i), the circumstances causing the 
miner’s or other employee’s good-faith be-
lief that performing such duties would pose 
a safety or health hazard shall be of such 
a nature that a reasonable person, under 
the circumstances confronting the miner or 
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other employee, would conclude that there 
is such a hazard. In order to qualify for 
protection under this paragraph, the miner 
or other employee, when practicable, shall 
have communicated or attempted to com-
municate the safety or health concern to 
the operator and have not received from 
the operator a response reasonably cal-
culated to allay such concern. 
‘‘(2) COMPLAINT.—Any miner or other em-
ployee or representative of miners or applicant for 
employment who believes that he or she has been 
discharged, disciplined, or otherwise discriminated 
against by any person in violation of paragraph (1) 
may file a complaint with the Secretary alleging 
such discrimination not later than 180 days after 
the later of— 
‘‘(A) the last date on which an alleged vio-
lation of paragraph (1) occurs; or 
‘‘(B) the date on which the miner or other 
employee or representative knows or should rea-
sonably have known that such alleged violation 
occurred. 
‘‘(3) INVESTIGATION AND HEARING.— 
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‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT OF INVESTIGATION 
AND
INITIAL
DETERMINATION.—Upon receipt 
of such complaint, the Secretary shall forward 
a copy of the complaint to the respondent, and 
shall commence an investigation within 15 days 
of the Secretary’s receipt of the complaint, and, 
as soon as practicable after commencing such 
investigation, make the determination required 
under subparagraph (B) regarding the rein-
statement of the miner or other employee. 
‘‘(B) REINSTATEMENT.—If the Secretary 
finds that such complaint was not frivolously 
brought, the Commission, on an expedited basis 
upon application of the Secretary, shall order 
the immediate reinstatement of the miner or 
other employee until there has been a final 
Commission order disposing of the underlying 
complaint of the miner or other employee. If ei-
ther the Secretary or the miner or other em-
ployee pursues the underlying complaint, such 
reinstatement shall remain in effect until the 
Commission has disposed of such complaint on 
the merits, regardless of whether the Secretary 
pursues such complaint by filing a complaint 
under subparagraph (D) or the miner or other 
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