tion to be conducted under this Act is unlawful pur-
suant to section 110(e); and 
‘‘(2) the maximum penalties for a violation 
under such subsection.’’. 
SEC. 304. CONFERENCE PROCESS FOR APPEALING PEN-
ALTIES; DELINQUENT PAYMENTS AND PRE-
JUDGMENT INTEREST. 
(a) CONFERENCE PROCESS.—Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 
820) is amended by— 
(1) redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 
(m); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(l) OPERATOR CONFERENCE PROCESS.— 
‘‘(1) RIGHT TO REVIEW.—Prior to the assess-
ment of any penalty assessed under this section, the 
operator shall be afforded the opportunity to review 
with a designated Conference Litigation Representa-
tive of the Secretary each citation and order issued 
during an inspection. 
‘‘(2) REQUEST
FOR
CONFERENCE; TIMBER-
LINE.—Upon receipt of a citation or order issued 
under this Act the operator shall have 15 days to re-
quest the review described in paragraph (1) of any 
citation or order issues during an inspection. The 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:29 Jul 21, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5788.IH
H5788
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
conference request must include a brief statement of 
the reason why each citation or order should be af-
forded a conference. Within 15 days following re-
ceipt of a request by the operator the Conference 
Litigation Representative shall schedule a meeting to 
review the citations or orders subject to the request. 
The Conference Litigation Representative shall con-
sider all relevant information submitted in a timely 
manner with respect to the violations or orders. 
‘‘(3) DECISION
OF
CONFERENCE
LITIGATION 
REPRESENTATIVE.—Within 15 days following the 
conduct of conference, the Conference Litigation 
Representative shall issue a decision affirming, 
modifying, or vacating the citations or orders that 
were the subject of the conference. The decision 
shall be communicated to the operator, the issuing 
inspector, and the district manager responsible for 
the district within which the mine is located. In 
making a decision, the Conference Litigation Rep-
resentative shall consult, as needed, with the Direc-
tor of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, 
Office of Accountability, to which each Conference 
Litigation Representative shall report.’’. 
(b) PRE-FINAL ORDER INTEREST.—Section 110(j) 
(30 U.S.C. 820(j)) is amended by striking the second and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:29 Jul 21, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5788.IH
H5788
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
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.’’. 
(c) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 110 (30 U.S.C. 
820) is further amended by adding after subsection 
(l) (as added by subsection (a)) the following: 
‘‘(m) ENSURING PAYMENTS 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 90 days after such 
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-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:29 Jul 21, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5788.IH
H5788
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
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-
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 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:29 Jul 21, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5788.IH
H5788
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
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 amendment 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(n) of 
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (as 
amended) (30 U.S.C. 820(n)) 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—WORKER RIGHTS AND 
PROTECTIONS 
SEC. 401. PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION. 
Section 105(c) (30 U.S.C. 815(c)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(c) PROTECTION FROM RETALIATION.— 
‘‘(1) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:29 Jul 21, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5788.IH
H5788
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(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, 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; 
‘‘(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-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:29 Jul 21, 2010
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5788.IH
H5788
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS