I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1439
To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 15, 1999
Mr. BALLENGER (for himself, Mr. HALL of Texas, and Mr. STENHOLM) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation 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.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safety and Health
Audit Promotion and Whistleblower Improvement Act of
1999’’.
SEC. 2. SAFETY AND HEALTH AUDIT REPORT.
Section 8(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 657(c)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘(4)(A)(i) Records, reports, or other information ob-
tained or prepared in connection with safety and health
audits conducted by or for the employer shall not be re-
quired to be disclosed in any inspection, investigation, or
enforcement proceeding pursuant to this Act except as
provided in clause (ii). Such records, reports, or other in-
formation may be disclosed in the course of an inspection,
investigation, or enforcement proceeding to the extent that
the employer expressly authorizes the disclosure.
‘‘(ii) Such records, reports, or other information may
be required to be disclosed to the extent that—
‘‘(I) the record, report, or other information is
sought as part of a criminal proceeding or fatality
investigation; or
‘‘(II) the record, report, or other information is
sought for purposes of establishing the cause of a
particular alleged violation, but only if the Secretary
establishes, on evidence independent of such records,
reports, or other information, that the condition or
practice of the employer is not in compliance with
the requirements of this Act for which such record,
report, or other information was prepared or ob-
tained.
‘‘(iii) Any record, report, or other information dis-
closed pursuant to subclause (II) of clause (ii) shall be
(1) by striking ‘‘thirty’’ and inserting ‘‘60’’; and
(2) by striking the last 2 sentences of para-
graph (2) and striking paragraph (3) and inserting:
‘‘(3) If upon such investigation, the Secretary deter-
mines that provisions of this subsection have been violated,
the Secretary may file a complaint with the Commission.
If within 20 days of the Secretary’s receipt of the com-
plaint the Secretary does not file a complaint on behalf
of the complainant with the Commission, the complainant
may file the complaint with the Commission. If either the
Secretary or the complainant files a complaint with the
Commission, the Commission shall provide an opportunity
for a hearing in accordance with section 554 of title 5,
United States Code but without regard to subsection
(d)(3) of such section. The Commission shall thereafter
issue an order, based upon findings of fact. Such order
shall become final 30 days after its issuance.
‘‘(4) The Commission shall have authority in pro-
ceedings under paragraph (3) to order such relief as may
be appropriate, including rehiring or reinstatement of the
employee to the employee’s former position with back pay
and interest.
‘‘(5) Any person adversely affected by an order of the
Commission under paragraph (3) (or the Secretary in a
case arising from a complaint brought by the Secretary)
may obtain review of the Commission’s order in accord-
ance with subsection (a) or (b), as appropriate.’’.
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